


And I Will Lay Down My Life

by bigCheese



Series: You'll always sacrifice yourself, and I'll always save you [2]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Devotion, Don't let the title fool ya, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25829578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigCheese/pseuds/bigCheese
Summary: Medieval/Royalty AU. Sonic ascended to the throne much earlier than he expected, but he's going to do his best to do right by his people. Luckily, he has the Will of the Wind, a mystical power born out of the love the people have carried for their land, and he has the help of four hopelessly devoted knights, including the one for whom his heart beats. (SatBK-inspired, but it's a different universe.)
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Series: You'll always sacrifice yourself, and I'll always save you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874101
Comments: 41
Kudos: 99





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy I'm back with some Sonadow because I love those funky lads, and I love the people who gave me such heartfelt feedback on my last Sonadow fic.  
> Just like in the last one, I created some stuff to flesh out the universe. When I was picking a name for Sonic's kingdom, I went on Google Translate, looked up the word ''wind'' in different languages, and picked the Finnish word because it sounds really cute!  
> Also the whole thing's written already (just gotta finish the epilogue) so I'll be updating every day starting today.  
> Hope you enjoy!

On the rare occasions that Sonic thought of himself ascending to the throne, he pictured himself much older. His voice would resonate with wisdom and experience as he gave a speech in honour of his coronation, and he would be grey at the temples by the time that crown sat atop his head. He pictured it years from now. Decades, even. As far into the future as possible.

He didn't expect the queen – his mother – to die, and leave him the throne on his twenty-second birthday.

But Life didn't often concern itself with the plans of the living. Life followed its own whims, and it liked to pull nasty surprises like a misbehaved child.

The simplicity of the funeral was a testament to the kind of monarch the queen had been. There was no excess, no needless spending. People from all over the kingdom were welcomed as attendees, and urged to bring naught but their wishes of a peaceful afterlife for the queen. Such wishes needed not be pried from the people, because the one thing found in excess on this regrettable day was grief.

Nearly all the citizens of the crown city, along with some hundred-odd people from elsewhere in the kingdom, were in attendance. The royal knights and retainers, as well as the prince, formed the rest of the funeral procession as it accompanied the queen to her final resting place. The procession started in front of the castle, continued through its walls, and up the mountain beyond it. The knights were tasked with helping those whose age or physical ailments would normally prevent from partaking in the long hike. Only four of them walked ahead of the throng, carrying the palanquin within which rested the queen.

Finally, Sonic lead the march. It was the custom, and he was glad for it, for he knew that if he looked at his mother, then he would not make it to the end of the procession. He couldn't afford to show that kind of weakness anymore. Not today, not ever. He would be crowned king within the next few days, and the people would look to him to find strength.

Sonic could hear the cries and choked sobs of the people behind him, and pressed on, thankful that none of them could see his face. He started to focus on the sound of the knights' footsteps. The queen's private guard – sir Shadow, sir Knuckles, lady Blaze, and sir Silver – kept a steady pace. The knights were quiet, mercifully, thinking only of performing their last duty towards their queen.

The wind swelled, beating against Sonic's ears, as he reached a plateau just shy of the mountain's peak. The midday sun hung above his head, its rays mild on this day in late spring, while the kingdom of Tuuli sprawled out below. This was to be the queen's last stop on her physical journey. Here, where the wind could carry off her spirit.

The knights lowered the palanquin, and the queen's retainers began to strip it down. The queen lied within, covered in a silk sheet cinched closed with a golden thread. The retainers picked her up reverently, and set her down on a dais formed naturally from the rock on the plateau. They bowed towards Sonic before moving to stand behind him, while three musicians sprang forth from the front of the procession, and began to play.

As a simple, sorrowful melody filled the air, Sonic turned to face the people. His people. He felt his throat close up, and feared, for a moment, that he would not be able to speak. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this. He had to properly send off his mother.

''To the people of Tuuli,'' he spoke up as evenly as he could. ''I won't ask you not to shed tears for my mother. She devoted her life to making this kingdom a place where its people could live the way they wanted. Her departure was unexpected, but we must believe that it came when it was meant to. We must believe that she will continue to watch over us all, and continue to hope for the happiness of her people.''

The words felt insufficient as they left his mouth, but they were all Sonic could manage without falling apart. After taking in another deep breath, he finished: ''May the Will of the Wind carry her spirit safely.''

The ceremonial phrase spoken, Sonic turned to the dais, and pulled the silver thread loose. The silk sheet slipped open, and, as the wind swelled once more, released a flurry of flower petals. The petals swirled around them before being carried off by the wind.

*

For the remainder of the afternoon, the people were invited to collect themselves before the queen, to say their goodbyes, and to give the prince their condolences. The sun hung low by the time the last few attendees started their way back down the mountain, including the knights and the queen's retainers. Only the private guard remained, tossing hesitant looks towards their prince.

It was an ancient tradition that the heir to the throne stay the night here, in this resting place, so that they may inherit the Will of the Wind once it returned from taking the previous monarch to their afterlife. Sonic understood the custom, he saw where some might find it poetic, but as he stood there, he realized how macabre it was to have to spend the night sitting beside his mother's corpse.

She didn't look dead yet. She looked beautiful. Her features serene, her eyes forever closed. Maybe Sonic would try pretending she was just sleeping. Maybe he could fool himself until morning. ''Alright, you four,'' he said, his voice slightly hoarse. ''Get going. I'll be fine.''

Her brows knitted in worry, Blaze asked: ''Are you sure, prince Sonic?''

''We can stay with you a little longer,'' Silver added in his sweet voice.

''It's not like you to break tradition,'' Sonic managed to put a bit of humour in his voice, although he did not look at them.

Ever the most dramatic of the bunch, Knuckles started to shout: ''Tradition be damned, we have a duty to pro—!!''

Blaze slammed her hand over Knuckles' mouth before he could finish his sentence. Silver lowered his hand – he'd been seconds away from doing the same. ''If you're certain, your Highness...,'' Blaze said. ''We will see you in the morning.''

''Thank you, Blaze. Don't worry about me, just go.''

Silver and Blaze exchanged hesitant glances before reluctantly walking off, dragging Knuckles with them. Shadow, who had been silent this whole time, lingered, his eyes settled on Sonic's back.

''What, you too?'' Sonic could sense that Shadow hadn't left, as quiet as the knight was, and he sighed. ''I'll be fine. Who's going to attack me on this mountain? The only way to get to it is through the castle, and that means getting past all the knights.''

Shadow's voice, deep and heavy with some unspoken torment, rose at last. ''There are wolves.''

Sonic nearly scoffed. ''Fair enough, but if you think I can't take a few wolves, then you have very little faith in me.''

''That's not it.''

''Just go, please,'' Sonic wanted to avoid prolonguing this conversation. ''I need to do this right.''

After a moment, Sonic heard Shadow shifting around and walking away. Sonic let out a sigh. There was nothing standing between him and this long night of solitude anymore.

*

''What are we doing? I can't believe we're actually leaving him there alone after what happened to her Majesty.'' Knuckles had started loudly voicing his disagreement and frustration as soon as they were out of earshot, following the path down the mountain. Every fiber in his being urged him to go back and watch over Sonic, and he would not hesitate to let his fellow knights hear how ashamed he was of their decision to abandon him. ''It's our duty to protect him. We've already failed the queen, but we can protect her—''

''Will you be quiet?'' Blaze glared at him, although her voice remained calm. ''None of us have any intention of leaving prince Sonic alone.''

Confusion spreading over his face, Knuckles blinked. ''Huh?''

''We're going to make our way back up quietly,'' Blaze explained, ''and guard the prince without him knowing.''

Silver tossed Knuckles a scrutinizing glance. ''So, do you think you can go the night wihout making a ruckus?''

''Of course I can,'' Knuckles growled, incensed again. ''What do you take me for? I'm a knight, same as you are!''

Blaze shook her head with a heavy sigh. ''Why would you provoke him like that, Silver? We all need to stay calm right now, as upsetting as this day has been.''

Silver lowered his eyes, guilt coming over his features. ''I'm sorry...,'' he said, his voice laced with frustration and grief. ''I don't want to fail again. I don't know what I'd do. I wish I could go back in time, and stop that assassin before he got to the queen.''

''I think we all wish that were possible,'' Blaze conceded softly. ''What happened to the queen is not your failure alone. We are all to blame.''

Gritting his teeth as Silver and Blaze spoke, Knuckles wrestled with his own guilt. Then, he cut in: ''We won't get anywhere standing here and talking. All we can do for her Majesty now is watch over her son, so let's go.''

Collecting themselves, Blaze and Silver both nodded.

''Shadow has yet to come down,'' Blaze pointed out. ''I imagine he came to the same decision as we did.''

''Not surprising,'' Silver said.

''Indeed, it isn't.''

*

Once night fell, Sonic was grateful for the doublet he had worn despite the daytime hike. The cold was burrowing in his body through his extremities, and the fire he had lit was doing little to help. At the very least, it was blocking his view of his mother's permanently dormant, pale visage. Sonic could just barely glimpse her outline over the dancing flames and smoke. Sonic shivered, holding his hands up to the fire.

Still no sign of that elusive, magical wind.

Calling it magic perhaps wasn't quite accurate. His mother had described the Will of the Wind as a power born of the world's life force, and the will of the first people who had walked this land to protect it. It was said that, at the time, all those people carried the Will of the Wind in them, but, as centuries passed, as times changed the people who then changed the ways of the world, a single person retained their connection to this power. The royal family had sprung from there.

Given the length of that description, it was easier to call it magic.

As a child, Sonic had seen what it could do, what powers it granted his mother. The queen hadn't been a warrior at heart, choosing, whenever possible, the path of peace. Sonic had mostly seen her fight in training exercises, or exhibition matches. He remembered her streaking across the battlefield, knocking her opponents over in her passage, moving as though she hovered above the ground, as though she owned the wind. She had been unstoppable, but she always told her son that there was more to the Will of the Wind than fighting prowess.

_The Will of the Wind exists to protect this land, but protecting does not mean beating your enemies or forcing them into submission. There is no prosperity in war. Listen for the needs of the people, their heartfelt wishes. The Will of the Wind will carry them over to you._

Tears blotted Sonic's view of the fire. ''What good is it if it couldn't even protect you...?''

The wind picked up, as though protesting Sonic's lack of faith. He scoffed bitterly. ''Oh, please.''

Before his conversation with the elements could continue, Sonic heard the ragged breathing of an animal coming from the brush leading to the plateau. Sonic stood up to go investigate, and was only partially surprised by the sight that awaited him.

His black armour was hard to spot in the darkness, but there was no mistaking Shadow, who appeared to have wrestled a wolf to the ground. When the wolf lowered its snout with a submissive whimper, Shadow released it, and it scurried deeper into the brush. Shadow rose to give Sonic what should have been a repentent look, but most definitely was not. He at least sounded sincere as he said: ''I apologize for the noise. I had no intention of disturbing you.''

''I thought I told you to leave,'' Sonic failed to muster the reproachful tone to give weight to his words.

''I can't,'' Shadow answered plainly. ''I'll stay and protect you whether you like it or not.''

Sonic couldn't help the incredulous smile that pulled at his lips. ''It's good to know I have such an obedient knight in my service.''

In truth, Sonic was relieved to see Shadow. He needed a distraction from the grief, and the cold, and the solitude, as well as the increasing dread at the thought that the Will of the Wind hadn't passed on to him yet – and perhaps wouldn't. ''Come sit with me,'' Sonic said, angling his body to show the fire. ''I'll worry if you spend all night out in the cold.''

When Shadow showed no sign of moving, Sonic rolled his eyes, adding: ''You'll be in a better position to protect me if you're closer to me, right?''

Those magic words spoken, Shadow followed Sonic back to the fire, though he remained standing at the ready, his eyes scanning their surroundings. Sonic sighed heavily. ''Will you sit down? I have no doubt you can spring to your feet fast enough if something jumped out at us.''

After a pause, Shadow said: ''You need to understand something.''

''What?''

Shadow seemed to hesitate. ''Now isn't the right time. You're—you should pretend I'm not here.''

''Now's the perfect time. I've got a whole night of sitting around in front of me.''

''You're grieving,'' Shadow stopped beating around the bush.

''Shadow, you're the one who initiated this conversation, and you're not going to back out now.'' Sonic didn't have the patience to be coddled, he never did, and he didn't feel any differently now. Not only that, but if Shadow the Taciturn Knight – not a real alias, however fitting – of all people, was the one doing the coddling, that would be more than Sonic could take. ''Just spit it out. And sit down, or I'm rescinding your knighthood.''

Shadow's eyes widened as though he really thought Sonic would make good on his threat. Begrudgingly, he sat down next to Sonic, and stared at the fire. A long moment passed before he started talking. ''I owe a great debt to the queen, and failing to protect her is something for which I can never atone. The only way I can repay what I owe to her Majesty is to keep you safe. I don't intend on failing again.''

Sonic nodded absent-mindedly. He knew it was futile to try convincing Shadow that the queen's death was not his fault. It was a pride thing, or an honour thing, or just a knight thing. It still hurt to hear Shadow blame himself. Sonic should have been the one watching out for his mother. If he'd kept her company longer that night, maybe she would still be alive. ''So, what's this big debt you owe?''

''It's thanks to the queen that my sister lived as long as she did.''

Sonic remembered Shadow's sister, who used to visit the castle occasionally to see her brother. Whenever Shadow looked at her, his hard features softened, and he smiled, and laughed—Sonic would never have believed it unless he had seen it himself. The tenderness in Shadow's eyes on those rare moments had occupied Sonic's thoughts through most of his teenage years, and although years had passed, Sonic hadn't forgotten.

''Her Majesty always put education and healthcare first,'' Shadow explained. ''I witnessed it myself while in service to her. Her advisors kept trying to make her fund a militia, or land expansion, or other such projects, but she refused. Thanks to that, Maria was able to get the care she needed. She was able to enjoy life before her illness took her. I was able to have her in my life longer than I—''

Shadow bit off the rest of his sentence, mournful stare settled on the fire. Bittersweet memories danced alongside the flames.

''I remember Maria,'' Sonic said softly. ''She was smiling every time I saw you together. She loved you a lot.''

When Shadow answered only with a small nod, Sonic offered: ''Subject change?''

''Please.''

''You got it. If my mother was here, I'm sure she would say you owe her nothing. She didn't rule the way she did to earn herself favours.''

''I know,'' Shadow replied, his voice deep, and solemn, and wistful, ''but I still feel that I must. I vowed to serve her as long as she lived. I will keep that same vow to her son, and I will lay down my life to protect you.''

Sonic was at a loss for a proper reply as the seconds trickled in time with the crackling of the fire. Such a proclamation of devotion would have had him blushing in different circumstances. ''I'm counting on you, then,'' he said eventually. ''But no self-sacrifices, ok? Dying is off the table.''

Shadow blew some air through his nose in a sort of laugh, and left the matter there.

''Still, you're violating tradition, you know?'' Sonic feigned criticism on his face as he tossed Shadow a glance. ''What if the Will of the Wind gets confused and goes in you instead?''

''It won't.''

''Not that it would be the end of the world if it did. I'm sure you would make just as good a king as I would.''

Shadow stared at him mildly in response, and Sonic immediately faltered. ''I'm just kidding. I'm not planning on shirking my responsibilities.''

''It's ok to be nervous,'' Shadow said after a pause, his eyes still on Sonic. ''This didn't happen the way any of us expected, but you'll do fine. You already have what it takes, Will of the Wind or not.''

Sonic was starting to feel pitiful having Shadow comfort him, and yet he couldn't help fishing for more positive reinforcement. Shadow had been a knight in service of the queen for seven years, and had trained as a squire years before then, so his seal of approval carried a lot of weight in Sonic's eyes. ''You really think so...? I don't know if I can measure up to my mother in the actual leadership part of being king. You know, the decision-taking, and the fund-spending, and the crisis-handling—What if there's a crisis?!''

''You'll handle it.''

''I mean,'' Sonic barely registered Shadow's answer and continued to babble. ''I'm handy with a sword, but that's about it. Swinging a sword isn't going to help if there's a food shortage, or—or a flood, or a new disease.''

Shadow's even voice cut through Sonic's meltdown. ''Calm down. The queen may be gone, but the system she put in place isn't immediately going to crumble. She left you the map, all you have to do is follow it until you come into your own way of being king.''

Speechless, Sonic blinked at Shadow. ''Th—''

''You won't be alone either. You'll have us.''

Sonic blinked again. ''Us?''

''The other hopelessly devoted fools,'' Shadow answered, picking up a pebble, and flinging it towards the brush.

Sonic stared in confusion as the pebble sailed through the air before hitting against something with a distinct _clink._ Seconds later, a familiar, scowling figure emerged from the darkness, and grumbled: ''Damn you, Shadow—Why would you give me away?''

''Knuckles?!''

Shadow eyed the unsheathed sword that Knuckles held at his side, and shrugged. ''You gave yourself away. You could have just sidestepped that pebble instead of batting it away with your sword. Show-off.''

'' _What?!_ '' Knuckles stomped over, shooting a glare at Shadow. ''You've got nerve calling me—''

''Knuckles,'' Sonic cut in forcefully. ''I thought I told you to leave.''

Knuckles faltered just a little bit. ''I'm sorry, your Highness. I couldn't stand leaving you without any protection.''

''Are Blaze and Silver hiding too?'' Since Knuckles couldn't lie without looking like he was holding in the need to pee, one look at his face was enough to tip Sonic off. _Unbelievable,_ Sonic thought as he hardly managed to conceal. Turning to the brush, and feigning his sternest tone, he called out: ''Silver! Blaze! Come on out!''

Out they came, sheepishly, and avoiding their prince's eyes.

Blaze opened her mouth to justify themselves, but Sonic started laughing before she could. ''The four of you are—heh—ridiculous! You were really just—haha— going to hide out in the trees all night? Were you at least planning on—hah—trading off sleep?''

Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze exchanged embarrassed glances, their faces becoming red. ''W-well we,'' Silver started, ''we didn't really think it through that much.''

''Haa,'' Sonic said, wiping his eyes. ''I think Shadow's right. I don't have anything to worry about with all of you around.''

Sonic missed the small, approving smile that dawned on Shadow's lips. He thought of his knights, earnest and sincere, devoted to him and to this land, and thought that he wanted to meet their feelings in kind. He wanted to give as much as they gave, and he wanted to make them proud to stand beside him.

Suddenly, the wind howled, and Sonic gasped as he felt a gust of wind crash into him. He felt as though he were flying although his feet remained firmly on the ground. He felt his body open up, his muscles relaxing, stress knots coming undone, as this unquantifiable energy rushed through him, covering every inch, until it settled down, simmering to a soft, constant thrum under his skin.

Before he looked at his knights, before he acknowledged what had happened, Sonic looked over at the fire. It had been reduced to embers, and, in the dim light, he could just make out his mother fading into a golden mist.

Within a few seconds, she was gone.

Sonic blinked back the tears in his eyes while his knights huddled around him in concern. ''It's ok,'' he managed to say. ''It passed on to me. The Will of the Wind.''

It was all but official now. He was king.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, fellow Sonic stans  
> Here's chapter 2, I really like this one. Hope you do too.   
> Also forgot to specify but (in case it wasn't obvious) I made the lads human just like in the last fic because I'm a coward.

After two weeks of sending out word, preparing the castle, and taking care of a dozen formalities or so, the day of Sonic's coronation arrived. The death of the queen was still fresh in their hearts, but, perhaps because of it, they were eager to heal, and to let someone new take her place. Someone who had inherited the Will of the Wind, and, hopefully with it, his mother's love for this land and its people.

The crown city was buzzing with excitement on the morning of the big day – citizens crowded the path leading to the castle, playing instruments with varying degrees of skill, dancing, speculating on what the ceremony would be like; particularly those who were too young to remember the queen's coronation. Many daydreamed loudly about the ball that would follow the coronation, when the castle doors would remain open until dawn of the next day, and people from all over the kingdom would be welcomed to come, and dance the night away.

It wasn't such a rare occurrence for the castle to be opened to the populace, yet no occasion called for such revelry as the post-coronation ball. The people came dressed in their best apparel, keen on trading their daily troubles for romance and frivolity. Anything could happen within those gilded walls, under the sway of the music and the moonlight.

Sonic sat in his private chambers as two attendants struggled with the task of getting his hair to behave. Not especially fond of people fussing over him, Sonic pouted and whined: ''It's fine like that, isn't it?''

''Your Highness,'' one of the attendants shot him a scandalized look, ''thousands of people will be looking at you today, you cannot simply appear _fine_!''

Sighing in defeat, Sonic let them primp for another thirty minutes, and scurry around fetching his royal vestments, but he drew the line at actually letting them dress him. When they returned to find Sonic ready – or as ready as he would ever be – they marveled at his transformation.

''You look so regal, your Highness,'' one said, blushing.

''Very becoming,'' the other agreed.

''Yeah? Guess I clean up pretty good.''

Instantly dismayed at the flippant remark shattering their illusion of a dignified, stately king, the attendants held in their sighs, and instructed Sonic to head to the throne room at once. After giving Sonic a bow, they then left to rejoin the other attendants in making last-minute preparations.

When the door shut behind them, Sonic let out a sigh. He brought a hand to his heart, where the Will of the Wind swirled tirelessly. ''Watch me, mom,'' he whispered, ''and make sure I don't bite my tongue during my speech.'' Drawing one last, long breath, Sonic left the chamber.

Flanking the doors were Shadow and Knuckles, both clad in their amour, polished and adorned with a paludamentum in the royal blue and gold. They stood at attention as Sonic walked through the doors, and then eyed him over. Shadow nodded approvingly to himself, while Knuckles piped up: ''You look great, your Highness.''

Flushing slightly, Sonic turned to face them, busying his hands with smoothing his perfectly smooth clothes. ''You think so? I'm not entirely comfortable in this outfit.''

''You look fit to be king,'' Knuckles insisted with a firm nod.

''Thanks, Knuckles,'' Sonic grinned, then grew bashful as he glanced at Shadow. ''What do you think?''

So, just a little thing – the feelings that Sonic had thought long-buried seemed to have resurfaced since the night of the funeral. Remembering how comforting and quietly attentive Shadow had been that night reduced Sonic to pining much like he had done in his teenage years whenever the knight, walked by or granted Sonic his attention. Only now, Sonic was an adult – about to be crowned king, no less – which made pining all the more embarrassing.

''You look better in armour,'' Shadow replied, infuriatingly casual, ''but you don't look bad in this either.''

''You've got nerve taking such a familiar tone with our king, Shadow,'' Knuckles bristled, stifling his urge to slap Shadow on the back of the head.

Sonic laughed, and hoped the blush on his cheeks wasn't too obvious. ''It's fine. We've known each a long time—same as you and me, Knuckles. We're friends before king and knight, and I don't want that to change.''

Simmering down, Knuckles couldn't help returning Sonic's smile. ''O-oh, well, of course that hasn't changed!''

''Happy to hear it,'' Sonic beamed.

''You don't look so nervous anymore,'' Shadow observed, a touch of warmth in his voice. ''Are you ready to do this?''

''With you two standing beside me, I'm ready for anything.''

It was as cheesy an answer as Sonic could give, but it drew a pleased smile on Shadow's lips. ''Good answer.''

*

It was late afternoon by the time the ceremony and fanfare ended, and that crown rested on Sonic's head. All the food prepared for the occasion was brought in, the musicians broke into a jaunty melody, and the guests started to roam the castle at their leisure as the festivities began in earnest. An air of levity spread across the castle – laughter, witty remarks, joyful conversation – and the dancing hadn't yet begun.

Sonic hopped off the throne as soon as his situation allowed it, and mingled with the people. The four knights of his private guard, who had stood beside him during the ceremony, fanned out in the throne room, taking up post wherever they could keep an eye on their king. Sonic had ordered them to loosen up and take part in the fun at some point, but he imagined that he would need to remind them.

''Soni—uh—your Majesty!!''

Sonic recognized the voice before he turned around to see the slight figure squeezing his way past the guests. Hurrying over to meet him, Sonic beamed. ''Tails! I'm glad you came.''

''Well, I know I'm not much for parties, but I had to make an exception for this. It's not every day my best friend is crowned king. You looked good up there. Fancy.''

''Or so I've been told,'' Sonic waved off the compliment, and he subconsciously searched the room for Shadow. ''But say, did I hear you call me 'your Majesty'?''

''Uh, well...''

''It's just Sonic to you, old friend. And if anyone gives you a funny look, you just point them out to me. I'll let them know what's what.''

Tails cracked a smile. ''I'll hold you to that, Sonic.''

''Good,'' Sonic grinned. ''Now, let's go get some food, I'm starving!''

*

Out of all the lessons Sonic had been forced to take as a young prince – table etiquette, calligraphy, horse riding, foreign languages, so on – ballroom dancing, suprisingly, had figured among his favourites. Sonic had an ear for music, good coordination, and an ease on his feet that not many people could match. Thus, when the guests started clearing a space for those who wished to dance, Sonic did not shy away.

If he had his pick, Sonc wouldn't choose ballroom dancing. He had learned different styles by watching the people of Tuuli, as well as the dances in different cultures whenever he had accompanied his mother on diplomatic visits.

And yes, technically, Sonic could do whatever he wanted. He could show off the latest dance moves he had learned from watching the young folk in town. If it fancied him, he could even do it naked. He was the king after all. Nonetheless, Sonic knew that the people expected a certain degree of tradition and decorum to be upheld by their king.

Ballroom dancing first, and then, Sonic would see how the night turned out. Maybe if all the guests drank enough, and loosened up, he could kick off his shoes, and dance like he was just another boy from the city.

Countless guests tripped over themselves trying to share a dance with him, and Sonic obliged as many as he could without having to somehow grow a second body. He even suffered to dance with the young daughter of the countess Rose – a smart, kind girl, who nevertheless had very obvious feelings that Sonic did not reciprocate. Sonic was thankful that his mother had never forced him to pursue romantic interests based on political benefits.

After entertaining his guests for a respectable amount of time, Sonic wandered over to the East balcony, where Blaze and Silver stood watch. ''Alright,'' he said, ''break time, you two.''

''Your Majesty,'' Blaze started to protest, ''we cannot—''

''I know for a fact that you love ballroom dancing, Blaze, so you're going to grant me the honour of at least one dance.'' Sonic grinned, and glanced at Silver. ''Enough time for you to hit the buffet. Don't tell me it hasn't been calling out to you all evening.''

Silver's face flushed when his stomach rumbled as though on cue. ''I-I can last until the party's over.''

''Go eat, or I'll order you to dance with me, too,'' Sonic warned, well aware that Silver had two left feet when it came to dancing.

Silver tossed Blaze a mortified glance, and she heaved a sigh. ''I suppose we don't have a choice,'' she conceded, although she made a poor job of concealing her excitement as she immediately held out her hand.

Sonic grinned as he pulled Blaze towards the dance floor. She was more graceful than most in spite of her armour, and it wasn't long before admiring gasps from the guests reached their ears. ''I'm not sure it's appropriate for me to be dancing with you, your Majesty...,'' Blaze said, her enthusiasm waning visibly.

''This is my court,'' Sonic retorted, ''and I say it's fine. I get having to act 'proper' and all that, but I draw the line at treating people like they're beneath me. That includes my knights.''

Blaze still looked uncertain as her eyes darted across the room in search of the condemning stares of the guests. ''I would hate for the people to think less of you...''

''Are you kidding—with how good a dancer you are? You're making me look good.''

''Well,'' Blaze couldn't help smiling, ''if you say so.''

While the two of them danced, Sonic stole a glance at the main entrance, where Shadow and Knuckles were standing guard. Sonic smiled as casually as he could, and, in a light tone, asked: ''Think I could convince Shadow to give me a dance, too?''

''He has a hard time refusing you, so it might be worth a try.''

Sonic nearly stopped dead. Not the answer he was expecting. ''What do you mean by that? Oh—hah, because I'm king, right?''

Blaze hummed pensively. ''No, I think there is more to it than that.''

''Oh,'' Sonic's heart raced. ''Could it be he has a soft spot for me since he was so devoted to my mother?''

''Perhaps that's it.''

Fearing that Blaze would start getting suspicious, Sonic dropped the subject there. ''Well, I have to make sure those two have a bit of fun tonight, too, so I'll head over there. Can you and Silver take up their post?''

''Of course, your Majesty.''

''Thank you, lady Blaze,'' Sonic grinned, and bowed at her as the song came to an end.

While Blaze left to fetch Silver, Sonic walked over to the castle's massive double doors. ''You know, there are wallflowers, and then there's the two of you,'' he said as he approached the couple of knights who were standing perfectly straight.

Knuckles turned to him with a bewildered expression. ''What do you mean, your Majesty?''

''I mean that you haven't moved an inch all night, when I'm pretty sure I told you to join the party for a bit,'' Sonic answered, crossing his arms. ''I'm having Blaze and Silver take your post, so why don't you go get something to eat?''

''It's very kind of you to worry about us,'' Knuckles replied. ''But we're fine.''

Shadow nodded silently in agreement, his expression inscrutable – he hadn't even turned to face Sonic, instead keeping his eyes on the path to the castle.

''Well,'' Sonic tried not to sound as frustrated as he felt by the lack of attention, ''maybe I'll go grab some food, and go stand alone on the balcony. At the mercy of archers hiding in the shrubbery, or assasins scaling the wall. If only one of my trusty knights deigned to come with me so that I might be safe..''

Sonic didn't enjoy being manipulative, but he couldn't think of another way to get his knights to take a break short of playing the authority card – and he absolutely didn't want to do that. How could he claim they were friends first, then order them around? When he did issue out orders, it was in the form of a suggestion or a question, except those were all too easy for his stalwart knights to ignore.

Finally deigning to turn around, Shadow narrowed his eyes at Sonic as though aware that he was being manipulated, but couldn't do anything about it. Shadow certainly couldn't let Sonic go out alone at night while everyone else was distracted. ''Allow me to accompany you, your Majesty,'' the knight said, the impudence in his tone so subtle that Sonic couldn't take offense even if he wanted as much.

''Thanks, Shadow,'' Sonic answered with a loaded smile. ''I'll feel much safer with you around. Knuckles, you take a break—get off your feet, eat something—just for a bit, then come switch with Shadow.''

''I...,'' Knuckles hesitated. ''I'm not sure if—''

''Please? I'll let you work without interruption if you just take that one break.''

Knuckles finally relented, and walked off when Blaze and Silver arrived to take over. Shadow followed Sonic as he strolled over to the balcony, grabbing a plate and some food along the way.

The balcony was almost a room unto itself, its surface roughly the size of a large caravel. The floor was made of the same marble as that of the throne room, and its white surface, slightly mottled with grey and gleaming in the moonlight, looked like a reflection of the moon. The music from within the ballroom grew subtle enough as they stepped outside not to drown out the sounds of the night – the soft chirping of crickets, the rustling of leaves, even—what luck—the distant singing of a nightingale coming from the gardens.

Sonic leaned his back on the balustrade with a loud, contented sigh, and unceremoniously held the plate out to Shadow. ''Eat.''

Knowing that Sonic wouldn't let it go, Shadow accepted the plate. He couldn't say that he didn't appreciate Sonic trying so hard to be considerate of his knights when the hunger pangs Shadow had been valiantly ignoring up until then started to subside with every bite. ''Thank you, your Majesty,'' Shadow conceded, not one to be ungrateful.

''Sure thing, and, hey, just call me Sonic when we're alone. Sometimes it's nice to just feel like...well, me.''

It took a moment for Shadow to answer. ''Very well.''

Pleased that Shadow didn't argue with him on the request, Sonic spun around to lean forward on the balustrade. He drew in a long breath of air sweet with the scent of the flowers that bloomed early. Sonic felt more connected than ever with nature lately. He sometimes felt as though he could feel the Earth's pulse, as though all living things born out of this land interlaced with him.

His mother had tried to describe how amazing the Will of the Wind was, but Sonic hadn't fully understood until now. He was sure there was nothing quite like it. ''What a nice night...it feels like summer's already here.''

''Forgive my bluntness,'' Shadow's even voice broke the silence, ''but you seem to have already recovered from your loss.''

_Ow._ Sonic looked back at Shadow, half-expecting him to be scowling, but Shadow's expression appeared no different than usual – in other words, he might have been irritated? It was hard to tell at time given that Shadow's neutral expression looked deceptively irate.

''Oh—hah—guess I've come off as pretty callous to you, huh?'' Sonic lowered his eyes as if in prayer, and brought a hand up to his heart. It was becoming a habit. ''I do miss her, but, at the same time, it feels like she's still with me. Her love, her compassion, it's in me, in the Will of the Wind. It's not the same as having her around, but it's better than nothing.''

''I understand,'' Shadow's voice sounded remorseful in that clumsy way of his, like he was more ashamed of himself than anything. ''I'm sorry I—''

''No, it's fine,'' Sonic cut in, trying to smile reassuringly. ''She meant a lot to you, and I can see why you would take it personally if you thought I didn't care.''

Sonic looked past Shadow's shoulders to the ballroom, and added: ''It's not like I could really afford to mope all day. I have to keep on keeping on.''

The people of Tuuli weren't so demanding or heartless that they wouldn't forgive their king for taking the time he needed to grieve, but Sonic didn't want to abuse their kindness. He wanted to be strong, both for them and for himself.

Understanding flashed in Shadow's eyes along with something else. ''Your ability to keep smiling even in the face of tragedy...,'' he said softly, ''I don't find it callous. It's admirable.''

Thinking a moment, he added: ''Although I can't imagine it's the healthiest thing to do.''

Sonic couldn't help grinning at the comment. ''You're worried about my emotional state, too? I thought you drew the line at protecting me from all things stabby.''

''I care about you not just as a knight.''

Sonic's cheeks flared, and he would have gaped – and possibly swooned – if Shadow's tone hadn't sounded so offhand, almost inane – Shadow was still holding the plate of food in a picture of banality. There was no way to tell whether Shadow had intentionally spoken words that would have Sonic's heart rate reach a dangerous rhythm, or if he had simply meant to express affection towards an old friend.

After filling the silence with a nervous laugh, Sonic made a desperate attempt to change the subject: ''H-hey, how about a dance?''

''No,'' came Shadow's categoric response.

''Why not?''

''I can't pay attention to our surroundings if I'm dancing.''

''Knuckles hasn't come back yet, which means you're still on break. Unofficially.''

''Forget it, Sonic.''

Unfortunately for Shadow, Sonic's heart had already recovered, and he was committed to having Shadow dance with him. He wouldn't get a better opportunity to do so anytime soon: the two of them were alone, away from prying eyes, and they could still hear the music from the ballroom. ''Come on,'' Sonic smiled slyly as he reached over to take the plate away from Shadow. ''Blaze danced with me earlier, and you don't want her to one-up you, do you?''

''Blaze likes to dance,'' Shadow pointed out.

''Deep down, everyone likes to dance,'' Sonic replied confidently, and grabbed Shadow's hand.

Shadow nearly stumbled as Sonic pulled him closer, easing them into a simple, four-step waltz. _Backwards, right, forwards, left. One, two, three, four._

Not only did Shadow not immediately pull away, but his timid expression as he made an honest attempt to keep up was surprisingly endearing. ''I'm not sure I—''

Light-headed and happy, Sonic grinned. ''Just follow my lead.''

It took a few minutes for the tension in Shadow's body to ease up, and another few for him to look like he was starting to enjoy himself, but enjoy himself he did. A lovely kind of dizziness had settled in his head by the time Sonic let go of his hand, and drew away.

''There we go...,'' Sonic smiled softly. ''You're fed, you've danced—I'm happy.''

Grateful that Sonic probably couldn't see him blushing in this lighting, Shadow made a decent effort not to look smitten. ''You're stubborn about the strangest things,'' he muttered.

''I'm quite a character, I know.''

*

Unfortunately for Sonic, being king wasn't all parties and moonlit waltzes with his secret crush. The tedious work that Sonic had spent his life dreading started piling up the very next morning after that wonderful night. Moutains of papers to sign, policies to review, disputes to solve, functions to attend – the list went on.

Sonic tried to slip away every chance he got, but it wasn't easy with retainers, advisors, and a staunchly devoted private guard staying apprised of his comings and goings. It was sheer frustration that eventually broke him down, and made him sneak out through a window in his room. The Will of the Wind cushioned the three-storey fall, which prevented all the bones in his body from breaking.

It was an important, symbolic power worthy of his respect, but it also made him capable of doing kickass stunts, and Sonic simply wouldn't be himself if he didn't take full advantage.

Standing up, Sonic dusted off his shirt, and threw a glance up at his window. Then, with a snicker, he left towards the town.

Walking through town had always been something Sonic enjoyed, but the experience was wholly different now. Sonic felt a closeness with people similar to that which he felt towards plant and animal life. If he stopped to focus, he would probably be able to get a glimpse of their innermost wishes. Merely wandering among the crowd in the market gave him the sense that he was more or less attuned to the general mood.

_Hot today—smells delicious—too expensive—busy, busy!_

Whenever the people noticed him, of course, they fawned over him, offered him food, drink, trinkets – whatever else they were peddling. Sonic refused the free gifts, instead buying the thing in question. If it was food, he made sure to eat it on the spot, and proclaimed how tasty it was for anyone nearby to hear. He made several stops in this fashion on his way to the blacksmith.

Young blacksmithing prodigy Tails sat polishing a set of armour outside his forge. He was too absorbed in his work to hear Sonic approaching, and nearly jumped out of his body when he looked up to see Sonic idly perusing his wares. ''S-Sonic!! Why didn't you say anything?''

''I didn't want to interrupt you.'' Sonic whistled as he gave the armour a once-over. ''Impressive gear you've got there. New?''

Talking to Tails about his work was a tried-and-tested way to instantly get him excited. ''Yes! I've been experimenting with different alloys—this armour should be the toughest I've made yet!''

The armour had been dyed and treated to take on a glistening, golden colour, and its design seemed halfway between ceremonial and functional. ''I see you went all out with the aesthetics, too.''

''Y-yeah,'' Tails flashed a bashful smile. ''You know how I get carried away sometimes.''

''You should keep getting carried away, because it looks great!''

Tails beamed at the compliment. ''You think so? You know, I...I actually forged this armour for you, Sonic. I thought you could wear it during an exhibition match.''

''Oh, you bet,'' Sonic grinned, holding up the breastplate to admire the detail. ''How much?''

''You don't have to—'' Tails was halfway through his sentence when it died in the back of his throat. ''U-uh...''

''Hm? What is it, Tails?''

Sonic glanced up to meet his friend's terrified stare, and had just enough time to turn around to see a fuming Shadow barrelling down the alley towards him. He did not have the time, sadly, to pray for his life before Shadow closed the distance between them, and loomed over Sonic exuding such a concentrated amount of controlled rage that Sonic's bladder almost gave.

Sonic distinctly knew that the only reason Shadow hadn't grabbed him by the throat and squeezed until Sonic passed out and could be dragged back to the castle was that there were witnesses. The king being choked unconscious by one of his knights wouldn't look good for either of them.

''Let me first say that I'm sor—''

''Do you think this is funny?'' Shadow held up a piece of paper on which the words _gone leavin'_ had been scribbled. The look in his eyes would probably keep Death at bay.

''I—Well—A little?''

Shadow crumpled the piece of paper in his hand in a way that made cold sweat run down Sonic's back. ''Let's go,'' Shadow said, his voice rough and commanding.

''Right behind you, Shadow,'' Sonic smiled nervously. ''Oh, uh, Tails—I'll send someone to pick up the armour. Don't lie about the price, ok?''

''S-sure!''

Fast on Shadow's heels, Sonic tried a light tone as he asked: ''Any chance the others didn't get as angry as you?''

''I didn't tell them,'' Shadow answered through his teeth. ''I had a good idea where you most likely went, and I didn't see the need to worry everyone unless you didn't turn up there.''

Guilt replaced fear in Sonic's stomach as it became apparent that Shadow wasn't going to beat him within an inch of his life. Sonic thought he caught a slight tremor in Shadow's voice, and wondered if his anger hadn't simply been a symptom of his fear. ''I'm sorry...I didn't mean to worry you or anyone else. I just had to get away for a while. It's—it's kind of exhausting constantly having to report to someone, or be supervised, or...Anyway, I'm really sorry, Shadow.''

The tension in Shadow's shoulders released slightly, and he slowed to a halt. ''I understand,'' he said, almost sighing, ''but I've told you—''

''I know—the whole debt thing—''

Shadow glared at how flippantly Sonic described his debt of honour.

''—but,'' Sonic went on undaunted, ''don't you think I can take care of myself to a certain extent? You've seen me fight, you know I'm good. Besides, I'm surrounded with people right now, in broad daylight...I just don't think it's necessary for you to be worried about me constantly.''

It took a long moment, but Shadow seemed about to relent, when his eyes suddenly widened at something past Sonic. Shadow stepped to the side, grabbing Sonic by the arm and yanking him flush against his chest as a stray cart came barelling down the sloped street, and crashed into a wall. The front of the cart collapsed, and a bruised watermelon rolled onto the ground just as the panicked owner of the cart popped up at the top of the street.

After observing the owner and assessing that the runaway cart had been an accident, Shadow looked back at Sonic. ''You were saying?''

It was hard to think of anything beyond his proximity to Shadow, or the erratic beating of his heart, but Sonic managed to stammer: ''Aside from crazy, runaway carts, I can look out for myself...''

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Shadow pulled away, and doubled back towards the castle. ''Come on, let's go back.''

Sonic nearly kicked the cart as they walked past it, muttering: ''Thanks for undercutting my point...''

*

''These reports are quite troubling, your Majesty.''

There were several advisors to the crown, but none had the prestige that the one who currently stood before the throne, lecturing Sonic about foreign affairs. He had worked under the queen for years, and, growing up, Sonic secretly referred to him as Eggman on account of his corpulent physique, and bald head. This Eggman was Tuuli's foremost scientist on top of being a royal advisor, but Sonic couldn't say he had ever held fond feelings for the man.

''The people of Maa encroaching on our borders is not something you should take lightly. They're known to be prone to barbaric acts, our villages on the frontier could be at risk.''

Sonic had to stifle a yawn. ''I've already sent scouts to check out the situation. There's nothing going on there but a peaceful exchange of resources. No incidents, not even a dirty look from one of the Maa tribespeople to one of our villagers.''

''You're much too naive if you truly think it is so,'' Eggman argued, going slightly red in the face.

Knuckles growled from where he stood beside the throne. ''How about you watch your mouth when you speak to our king?''

Standing on the opposite side of the throne with an unusually menacing glimmer in his eyes, Silver nodded in agreement.

Eggman flinched. ''My apologies, your Majesty. Your faith in people—even strangers—is a most admirable trait, I only fear that you might be a tad too trustful. It's hard to believe that there truly hasn't been any tension between our people at the border, and the Maa tribespeople. Your scouts could have failed to notice certain incidents.''

''What are you suggesting I do anyway?''

''Sending out knights would be a good first step—just to insure our people are protected in the event that tensions break out.''

''No, no way,'' Sonic shook his head. ''Doing that will only make the Maa feel threatened, and make our people feel like there's a danger when there's none. Unless hostile altercations actually start happening, I'm not sending out any knights.''

''I see,'' Eggman said, grinding his teeth. ''Very well. I do hope none of our people end up paying for that decision.''

''Move it along,'' Knuckles warned, saving Sonic the trouble of dignifying his words with an answer. ''The king is done speaking with you.''

Eggman bowed stiffly, and took his leave.

''What a creep...,'' Silver muttered as soon as Eggman had left the throne room.

As far as Sonic remembered, his mother had trusted Eggman – barring that, she had at least respected him for the advances he made in medicine and technology. The high quality of life in Tuuli was due in no small part to him. Sonic couldn't dismiss him so easily, as much as he loathed how eager Eggman seemed to pick a fight with their neighbours. ''Yeah...,'' he mumbled absently. ''No argument there.''

The Will of the Wind stirred beneath his skin as though warning him of impending danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked the word Maa the same way I did Tuuli, ie went on Google Translate and looked up ''earth'' in a bunch of languages. Finnish won again! (If there are some Finnish lads reading this, your language sounds really cute!)  
> Also, I was inspired by [this drawing](https://ffc1cb.tumblr.com/post/185305274122/aaayyy-im-on-mobile-and-cant-see-your-about-page) (last one) for the dancing scene.  
> Be generous with your comments! Next chap tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did people not enjoy the dancing scene ;-; I had fun writing it, but no one mentioned it, so I'm just ;-; right now.  
> Anyway, here's chapter 3.  
> There's not a lot of Sonadow content in it, sorry about that.

Sonic grew more comfortable with his royal duties over the following weeks, although it was largely on account of how repetitive those duties were, which was not something he particularly welcomed. Nevertheless, this meant that Sonic could get through his daily to-do list faster, and earn himself more free time. Whenever Sonic left the castle, he made sure to inform Shadow, who always ended up accompanying him.

It was a win-win: Shadow appreciated Sonic making an effort not to worry him, and Sonic had the perfect excuse to spend time alone with him without making his feelings obvious. It was only a shame that the streets of the crown city were so damn safe. The neighbouring towns and roads weren't exactly teeming with bandits or wild beasts either.

In other words, it looked like Sonic wasn't going to get an opportunity to fall into Shadow's arms again any time soon.

Until troubling reports started coming in from the border Tuuli shared with the Maa territory.

The most troubling thing about the reports was the possibility that Sonic would have to concede to Eggman that he had been right to be wary, and that – Sonic just knew – Eggman would be completely insufferable about it.

Sonic would not have put any stock in the reports if only they hadn't come directly from his scouts. Maa tribespeople had apparently been getting hostile with the inhabitants of a village on the Tuuli outskirts – stealing cattle, setting crops on fire, breaking farming equipment, and so on. Sonic was more confused than anything as he listened to one of his scouts go into details.

''This doesn't make any sense...,'' he said. ''Why did they suddenly start acting this way? Did something happen?''

''We spoke to the villagers, your Majesty,'' the scout replied, ''and they had no idea. They said that relations with the Maa were friendly until a week ago, that they had just traded gallons of spring water for pelts and leather.''

''Something must have happened,'' Sonic frowned in thought. ''Have you heard the Maa's side of the story?''

There was a short but distinct pause before the scout answered: ''We kept an eye on them for a while, but didn't learn of the reason behind their sudden hostility.''

Once Sonic dismissed the scout, he sat thinking to himself for a while. ''This is so weird. I should go there myself to find out what's behind all of this.''

Standing on either side of the throne at that moment were Shadow and Blaze, who, to Sonic's surprise, actually agreed with him. ''It is your duty as king to solve disputes such as these,'' Blaze concurred. ''This could escalate if you do not step in.''

''You're taking us with you, naturally,'' Shadow said. ''Never mind how the Maa might react to your presence, but it's a long road to get to the border. Anything could happen.''

''Fine, but I'm only taking you two, plus Knuckles and Silver. I don't want the Maa to feel like I'm launching an attack on them.''

Both knights appeared satisfied with that decision.

''When shall we depart, your Majesty?''

''First thing tomorrow.''

*

Sonic wasn't an avid reader, but he could make an exception when it mattered. The night before his departure to the border, he hit the royal library with the intention of reading up on Maa and its people. While there were things he remembered from his history lessons growing up, or from the one trip he had taken there with his mother, Sonic felt a need to refresh his memory.

Maa was a small territory to the West of Tuuli. Its terrain was primarily hills and valleys which lead to mountains further in, and the people were scattered in small villages or encampments across the region. They were known for being unmatched as hunter-gatherers, but what truly made them famous was the prevalence of rare ore and gems in their culture.

The Maa chieftain, who was chosen based on strength, resided in the main village at the foot of the mountains. Also housed in this village was the Maa tribe's prized symbol: an emerald the size of a boar. The few books on Maa folklore that Sonic managed to find told of the emerald's mythical powers of divination, and alluded to its power over the forces of chaos.

Despite how intriguing the stories were, it was around then that exhaustion got the better of Sonic, who fell asleep with his head quite literally in the books.

When his knights came to check on him, and take him to his chamber, he was mumbling in his sleep about emeralds and chaos.

*

That morning, Sonic and his private guard geared up, saddled up, and set off towards Maa. It would take them three days to ride to the border, and, although Sonic suspected he probably could run there faster with the Will of the Wind, he would have to put up with going on horseback. His knights weren't endowed with the same power as him after all.

To be fair, Sonic was probably overestimating the extent of said power.

The plan was to make as few stops as possible – setting up camp the first and second day, and resting in the Tuulian village on the third. On the journey's second day, the sun had long set when the party decided to stop and make camp. The knights deemed the spot safe enough: they were at the foot of a hill, which covered their flank, and gave into a cavern that would shelter them from the elements. There was also no river nearby that would potentially drown out the sound of approaching assailants.

Sonic knew it was a bit childish of him, but he was inordinately thrilled about the night of camping. Same as being out on this trip: while he knew that the reason behind the trip was far from ideal, he couldn't help being excited about it. He was out in nature travelling with his friends, getting reacquainted with the sights Tuuli had to offer, and, most importantly, he had no papers to sign.

Knuckles and Silver, who delighted in nature, shared his excitement. The more utilitarian Blaze and Shadow saw the trip purely as work, but they seemed happy to see Sonic enjoy himself.

The five of them were sitting around the fire exchanging whatever tidbit of drama they had picked up around the castle – Sonic wasn't above idle gossip – when something drew his attention away.

A shift in the wind.

Knuckles had the best hearing, and, a second later, he heard a low thrum in the air. He was up, sword drawn, and putting himself in front of Sonic within the next second. ''There's something coming this way.''

The other knights unsheathed their swords, and formed up around Sonic, who had already drawn his weapon in anticipation. He had no intention of sitting back while his friends fought to protect him.

A dozen... _things_ came out of the brush in the direction from which the party had come. They seemed to be made of metal, their surface perfectly smooth and gleaming. They looked like turkey-sized eggs, and somehow, they were floating in the air. Sonic would have to wonder about how that was possible – magic probably? – later, because it didn't seem like the odd things were friendly.

All twelve of them fired bolts of energy simultaneously, leaving Sonic and the knights with no choice but to leap out of the way. The bolts of energy scorched the ground where they hit, like wyrmlings spouting little bursts of flames.

Sonic sprung into action immediately, summoning the Will of the Wind to propel himself forward, and jumping to bear down on one of the egg creatures with his sword. His blade dented the egg's surface when Sonic expected it to cut right through, but Sonic wasn't done. Still airborne, he hacked at the egg with his blade as fast as he could until it dropped to the ground with a loud whirring sound.

The knights had made the same realization regarding the egg creatures' unexpectedly resilient surface, and weren't faring as well as Sonic without his unnatural speed. At best, they seemed to be distracting the eggs.

Blaze skewered one of the eggs clean through the small orifice through which they fired their energy bolts, and, as she pulled out her rapier, she shouted: ''They're weak in the front—the spot that looks like an eye!''

When Sonic glanced her way, he saw that the left side of her armour was singed where she hadn't been able to dodge a hit. Far more distressing than that, the part of the armour right where the bolt had struck had melted away. Sonic's own protective instincts flared up, and he yelled: ''I'll take care of them, just focus on avoiding their attacks!''

The eggs, however, shifted their focus entirely to Sonic, who couldn't take them down while avoiding their combined attacks. He made one misstep, and had the time to see one of the eggs fire straight at him when Shadow suddenly ran in front of him. Shadow took the hit in his breastplate as he continued to run, fuelled, Sonic could only assume, by sheer fury. Shadow struck the egg with his whole strength, and it made a blaring noise, its red eye blinking, before falling to the ground.

Knuckles jumped on one of the eggs to wrestle it the ground and drive his sword through its eye. ''Shadow! Take Sonic through that cave!''

''We'll cover you!'' Silver swung at the two eggs that tried to attack Knuckles while he had his hands full. Blaze was quick at his side, deftly stabbing her rapier through one of the eggs.

Sonic's protests came immediately: ''Are you kidding me? We've almost got them!''

Suddenly, three arrows shot out of the brush, and hit three of the egg machines square in the eye – each of them tumbled to the ground with a loud thud.

While Sonic vaguely registered the arrows flying in the corner of his eye, he rushed towards two eggs, jumping high enough to land feet first on one, and using it as a springboard to launch himself at the other one. Sonic swung his sword in another wild flurry of attacks, and the egg succumbed. When Sonic landed back on his feet, he looked around to see that his knights had taken care of the remaining three creatures.

Aside from the gaping hole in Blaze's and Shadow's armour, the knights looked no worse for wear. They turned their attention to the woods as soon as they established that the eggs were no longer a threat. ''Show yourselves!''

''We're the king's scouts,'' a quivering voice answered from the brush. ''We mean no harm.''

Sonic indeed recognized the three people who emerged from the woods as his scouts. ''Thanks for the help,'' he said, grinning at them. ''But what are you doing here?''

Before they answered, the scouts threw themselves on their knees. ''Forgive us, your Majesty...!''

Confusion took over Sonic's features. ''Huh...? What for?''

The scouts launched into a long explanation that started with them discovering that the Maa's sudden hostility was due to their people getting seriously ill from the spoiled water they received from the villagers in Tuuli. The scouts were intercepted by Sonic's advisor, Eggman, before they gave in their report.

As soon as the scouts mentioned Eggman, it became apparent to Sonic and his knights who had sent those deadly creatures after them. It made sense – those egg things clearly weren't organic. They were automatons of some kind, and Eggman was the only one in the entire kingdom who could create such sophisticated machines.

The scouts admitted that they were paid off by Eggman to withhold the information about the spoiled water, which meant that he had known about it beforehand, and likely had been the one behind the heinous act in the first place.

''So,'' Shadow seethed, looking one wrong answer away from killing the scouts where they stood, ''why did you chase after us?''

Knuckles looked right there with him. ''Your conscience finally caught up with you?''

''We saw your advisor send those things after you at night the day you left,'' one of the scouts answered, and he started to blubber. ''We didn't know what they were—but we feared—we didn't want—''

''Alright, alright,'' Sonic cut in. ''You came clean, that's what matters.''

Blaze turned to him with a look of shock. ''Will you really not punish them? Their lie put you at risk, as well as our relations with Maa.''

''It's treason, plain and simple,'' Knuckles added. ''They put gold over their loyalty to you.''

''Well,'' Sonic hesitated, ''maybe they don't get paid enough...''

In a rare moment of perfect sync, all four of his knights hollered: _''That's not the point!!!''_

''They're right, your Majesty,'' one of the scouts said as he nearly prostrated himself fully flat on the ground. ''We do not deserve your clemency...''

Sonic looked incredibly uncomfortable. ''Give me a break...''

Ignoring the scouts for a moment, Sonic looked around at the trashed egg-machines, and at the road ahead. The scouts lying to him wasn't important right now – Sonic still had to head to the border and rectify the situation there. It was even more pressing now that he knew the incident that had caused the Maa tribespeople to act aggressively.

Then, of course, there was Eggman.

''Listen,'' Sonic said, turning back to the scouts, ''if you really feel guilty about what you did, go back to the city and turn yourself in to the knights. I'll deal with you when I get back. Not sure what I'll do, but I won't kill you. If you don't turn yourselves in, just get out of here, and never show your faces to me again.''

The scouts looked up at their king in disbelief, their eyes glistening with tears. ''Y-your Majesty...''

''Oh, wait, don't turn yourselves in until we get back,'' Sonic said. ''I don't want Eggman getting tipped off about us knowing the truth. Just, uh, go find somewhere to lay low until then. Got it?''

While the knights came to terms with the fact that they wouldn't get to see the sweet hammer of justice come down, Sonic moved on as soon as the scouts were out of sight – running off after they had thanked Sonic profusely. ''Ok. Let's round up our horses, strip down the camp, and get going. We can't afford to wait the night to take care of this situation, we're riding to the border in one go.''

Shadow pointed to the egg-machines. ''What about those things?''

Sonic considered the question for a moment. ''We've got no choice but to leave them here for now. We can't carry them all back ourselves anyway.''

''What about taking one to study?'' Blaze looked at the machines with a keen eye.

''As soon as we get back to the city, I intend to pay Eggman's lab a visit,'' Sonic answered, an edge to his voice. ''I don't doubt we'll find a bunch more of these machines there.''

Knuckles and Silver left to round up their horses, who had gotten spooked by the weird death machines, but Sonic took Blaze and Shadow aside when he spotted them taking off their armour. Sonic felt a pang of remorse at forgetting to check on them earlier; forgetting that they could have died in that fight. ''Are the two of you ok?''

''Yes, but this armour will be a hindrance if I keep it on,'' Blaze answered.

Shadow wore the usual confused frown that said he didn't understand why anyone would be concerned about his well-being. ''I'm fine.''

''One more hit where your armour melted away and you could have...,'' Sonic trailed off.

Blaze gave him a reassuring smile. ''Do not worry yourself, your Majesty. I don't intend on being so careless if we meet in combat with those things again.''

Shadow said nothing. He had let himself be hit by an attack that was meant to land on Sonic, which he would do again if faced with the same situation. _And I would lay down my life for you –_ Shadow had already made this clear to Sonic; therefore, he had nothing to add, nothing to say to justify himself.

Sonic thought of what he could tell Shadow long after the moment had passed, the conversation ended. What could he say that would convince Shadow not to give up his life so readily, least of all to protect him? What could he say that would actually shake Shadow's ridiculously strong proclivity for self-sacrifice?

Maybe there was no answer, nothing Sonic could say.

Luckily, Sonic had a tendency to let his actions speak for him.

When the camp had been stripped down, and the fire snuffed out, Sonic and his knights took off towards the border.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

The feud with the Maa tribe seemed to have escalated when Sonic arrived in the village where it had spawned. The Tuulian villagers had begun to retaliate to ensure that their goods weren't damaged, even going as far as lying in wait at night and throwing rocks at the first sight of a Maa approaching. Sonic was glad he hadn't dawdled on the way, because it soon wouldn't matter to either side who had thrown the first stone, so to speak.

Hint: it was Eggman.

Luckily, Sonic wasn't the only one trying to keep the peace. After arriving in the village, where he did his best to gather everyone together to explain the situation, the villagers mentioned a Maa tribeswoman who had come around to try to apologize for her people's behaviour. She spoke the main Tuuli dialect, and she had made the same claim about the spoiled water.

_Why didn't you believe her? -_ a dismayed Sonic had asked.

_It just seemed like a convenient excuse –_ the crowd had answered.

Nevertheless, Sonic remained positive at the idea that someone from the other side hadn't gotten sucked up in the vicious cycle, and decided that the best course of action would be to meet with her. In another stroke of luck, the Maa peacekeeper happened to make an appearance on the day of his arrival, perhaps hoping that a second attempt would yield better results.

She was surprised to be allowed in the square by the villagers who were more receptive to her story thanks to Sonic's efforts. When she was escorted in front of him, and informed that he was the king, she immediately bowed her head in respect. ''It is an honour to meet you, king Sonic,'' she said in the Tuuli dialect. ''My name is Tikal.''

''No need to be so formal,'' Sonic grinned. ''I heard you've been doing my job for me. Thanks for trying to reconcile our people.''

''Please, there's no need to thank me. This is my duty as well, as the chief's daughter.''

Sonic's eyes widened. ''Oh, s-sorry,'' and he bowed his head as she had earlier. Being the tribe chief's daughter essentially made her a princess in Tuulian terms, and, as little as Sonic cared for treating people differently based on title, he didn't want to incur a political incident. ''I should have—''

''N-no, it's my fault!'' Tikal seemed horrified at having made Sonic uncomfortable. ''I should have introduced myself as such from the beginning. It's just that we met once as children, though it was very long ago.''

Sonic had to admit he only vaguely remembered his trip to Maa, which, fortunately, didn't seem to offend Tikal. Once pleasantries were well out of the way, Sonic and Tikal discussed the situation. They decided that in order to truly reestablish peace, it would be wise for Sonic to speak with the chief of the tribe, who had caught wind of the whole incident with the water, as well as the subsequent feuding, and was not pleased with the people of Tuuli.

''I convinced him not to take drastic action until I came here, and confirmed what happened,'' Tikal explained. ''I always suspected the water might have been tampered with by someone else. The villagers had been so kind to our people up until then, I refused to believe that their generosity had been a lie this whole time.''

''We owe a lot to your good faith, Tikal,'' Sonic praised her.

''Thank you...Alas, my father is different,'' she said, lowering her eyes. ''He is short-tempered, and tends to be distrustful of strangers. I do not wish to disparage him, but I do believe you should know what to expect when you meet with him.''

''No sweat,'' Sonic grinned. ''Between the two of us, we'll convince him that my people never meant yours any harm.''

''There will also be the matter of our providing compensation for the crops and supplies we damaged...,'' Tikal added with a grim look on her face that said she no faith in her ability to secure such a show of good faith from her father.

Sonic waved his hand reassuringly. ''I'll take care of that. It's my responsibility to make sure my people have everything they need to live comfortably.''

His words seemed to lift an immense weight off her shoulders. ''Thank you, king Sonic. Whenever you and your party are ready to depart, I shall take you across Maa to my village.''

''I'd like for my knights to rest. Can you give us until tomorrow morning?''

''Certainly. I'll be waiting at the edge of the village at sunup tomorrow.''

*

Although time was of the essence, Sonic hadn't allowed himself nor his knights the chance to rest in two days. They needed a few hours of sleep before they hit the road again. Something told Sonic that the knights wouldn't protest the decision: after all, they couldn't protect him if their reflexes were too dulled from exhaustion to, say, parry blows or jump in front of him in time. Sonic secured them rooms at an inn, and the knights agreed to trade off sleep.

An hour into the first shift, Sonic found himself tossing and turning in bed, somehow too wound up to sleep despite his lack thereof. Sonic rolled out of bed, grumbling, and left his room in naught but his riding boots, a pair of pants, and a loose, rather immodest undershirt. If it hadn't been for his impeccable posture or the ornate sword on his hip, Sonic could have been mistaken for a commoner.

It was Shadow who had taken the first shift, and he eyed Sonic over as the king left his room. He schooled his face into a neutral expression when his eyes wandered over Sonic's exposed collarbone. ''Having trouble sleeping?''

''Yeah. I've got a lot on my mind.'' Rather than elaborate on that, Sonic tilted the pommel of his sword forward. ''I was hoping, since we're both up...''

Shadow smirked. ''Hoping to blow off steam?''

''Yeah. If you're not too tired, I mean.''

''Let's go,'' Shadow said, preceding Sonic down the stairs of the inn.

Summer had come around at last, meaning that, the air was mild in spite of the late hour, and the sun hadn't fully set. The inn had a small courtyard for guests to eat or sit in the fresh air, but it was deserted at this time. Sonic decided it would do as a space to spar with Shadow: the inn concealed it enough that the villagers who were up late wouldn't wander over and start to crowd them. Sonic didn't want an audience right now. He wanted to clear his head so he could sleep.

Of course, getting to spend time alone with Shadow factored in the decision, too.

The knights in Sonic's private guard were all formidable combatants. Knuckles had strength that bordered on legendary, Blaze had the skill and precision of a seasoned duellist, and Silver had the kind of focus that would let him move objects with his mind were it possible. Shadow combined all three into a frightening fighting style. No one in the castle could fight with him on equal footing, not even Sonic, whose main advantage had always been speed.

The Will of the Wind turned his speed into an unstoppable force of its own, but Sonic didn't want to resort to using it against Shadow. Even if it meant losing to him again and again, Sonic wanted to fight Shadow fairly, so that, one day, when Sonic inevitably bested him, it would be a meaningful victory.

Shadow pointed his sword towards Sonic, tilting his head and flashing a goading smirk. ''Not going to use it this time either?''

''Nope.''

''You're very stubborn, your Majesty. If only your stubbornness could help you win against me.''

Ah, yes. Strength, skill, focus, and insufferable arrogance – the four elements that embodied Shadow's fighting style.

Sonic rolled his eyes before jumping on the offensive. His blade met Shadow's with a loud clank; Sonic felt the shock of the impact reverberate across his body, and a rush of adrenaline followed close behind. Sonic kept on the offensive, making attack after attack from every angle, from every direction, as he moved around Shadow like water. Sonic's natural speed was already a notch above every swordfighter in the kingdom.

There was a special attack that Sonic could perform when using the Will of the Wind to increase his speed. Sonic called it a spinning attack. It was just as the name implied: Sonic rapidly twirled himself in place to build the kind of momentum that would compensate for strength when he attacked as an extension of the same movement.

Without the Will of the Wind, the movement left him open for too long, therefore it simply wasn't viable in actual combat. Sonic began to grow confident, however, as he and Shadow exchanged blows, and the urge to try out a spinning attack to gain the upper hand started worming its way in his head.

It took some time and a bit of footwork to create the space Sonic needed between them, but, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, Sonic hurtled towards Shadow like a furious ballerina holding a sword.

It might have been practice paying off, or that Shadow had been momentarily distracted by the ambitious technique, or perhaps – and Sonic really hoped it wasn't this one – Shadow had decided to let Sonic win, but the spinning attack worked. When Shadow's blade came up to block Sonic's, the impact was strong enough to make Shadow lose his grip.

Sonic didn't waste any time: another attack, and Shadow's sword flew out of his hands. Sonic's eyes widened, somewhere between incredulous and overjoyed as Shadow glanced at his sword lying in the grass before kneeling. ''I yield,'' he said. ''You beat me.''

Aglow with pride and eager to bask in his victory, Sonic pointed his sword under Shadow's chin. ''Will you admit that I can take care of myself?''

''I never thought otherwise,'' Shadow answered, staring up the silver length of the blade to Sonic, who stood wreathed in the dying light of the sun. Too beautiful, even for a king.

Sonic lifted Shadow's chin up slightly with the tip of his blade. ''Then do you promise to trust that I can handle myself in combat, and to stop trying to take every hit for me?''

Instead of answering, Shadow tilted his head with a curious look. ''Hey, your Majesty? I can kind of see through your shirt.''

''Wh—'' Red-cheeked, Sonic lowered his sword in favour of looking down at himself.

As soon as there was no blade right by his throat, Shadow shot up, pulling a dagger out of the sheathe on his thigh, and closed upon Sonic as deftly as an assassin. Shadow pressed the flat side of the dagger against Sonic's neck. ''As long as you let your guard down so easily, you'll need me to watch out for you,'' he said, a slight, provocative ring to his voice.

Sonic swallowed and averted his eyes. ''You're a real chore, you know that?''

Shadow almost laughed as he pulled away. ''Do you feel like you can fall asleep now?''

''No,'' Sonic frowned, the blush on his cheeks fading.

Shadow worried for a moment that he had gone too far with his little stunt, and opened his mouth to apologize, but Sonic walked past him to sit on one of the log benches in the courtyard. Shadow hesitated before going to sit beside him. ''You said you had a lot on your mind earlier...,'' was Shadow's inept yet honest attempt at inviting Sonic to share his worries, and hopefully get that tortured look off his face. If possible, Shadow would like for Sonic to always be smiling.

''How could I not see that Eggman was plotting behind my back?''

It took a second for Shadow to infer who Sonic was talking about. ''You didn't have a reason to distrust him. He's your advisor, and he was your mother's before that. Why would you suspect someone who's been in your service for so long?''

Sonic seemed frustrated, as though reluctant to admit that Shadow made a good point. ''B-because he's been acting shady this whole time! You thought so, too, and Silver, and—You all tried to tell me. But it's just like you said, I let my guard down too easily.''

Oh, no. ''I didn't mean it like that,'' Shadow said firmly.

A generous amount of guilt twisted Shadow's stomach – the last thing he wanted to do was to wreck Sonic's confidence. ''I didn't mean it like that,'' he repeated. ''I don't think trusting the people in your service makes you careless. You were betrayed. You're not the one to blame.''

When Sonic didn't reply, Shadow went on: ''Now you're here, dealing with the problem head-on. You're going to fix the damage your advisor caused, then go back, hopefully to turn him into a human skewer.''

Sonic let out a weak laugh. ''I don't have your sadistic streak.''

''Then I'll do it for you.''

Sonic laughed again, this time with more heart in it. ''I might take you up on that, but no promises. We'll see when we get there.''

''Fine by me,'' Shadow replied as Sonic grew quiet and turned his head to the sky, now dark and dotted with stars. Shadow stared at Sonic's profile for as long as he thought he could get away with, then lowered his gaze to Sonic's hand, which rested on the bench. Shadow thought of reaching for that hand; wished he could do it; yet faltered as he had many times in the past. There were too many reasons why he shouldn't give in to that wish, however innocent.

''The power to see the past and the future...,'' apropos of nothing, and unaware of Shadow's inner turmoil, Sonic suddenly broke the silence. ''Sounds like it would be quite the boon.''

Shadow tried to refocus. ''What?''

''The people of Maa have a magical gem that has divination powers. I wonder if Tikal's father will let us see it.''

''I...I'm sure you could convince him.''

''Maybe,'' Sonic grinned, ''but I'll have to do that after I convince him not to hate our guts.''

Finally catching up, Shadow smiled, and said: ''If anyone can do it, you can. You have a way with people. A way of making them trust you.''

''That makes me sound a bit shady,'' Sonic chuckled.

''No, not like that,'' Shadow argued, once more struggling to find his words. ''Just—you have a way of making the people around you feel at ease. It's something I admire about you.''

''Oh...,'' a blush crept on Sonic's face. ''Thanks.''

The two of them sat talking until Sonic began to nod off, and Shadow escorted him to his room.

*

The road to Tikal's village went smoothly – a pleasant ride through grassy hills that brought them to their destination by nightfall the same day. The warriors who were guarding the entrance to the village eyed Sonic and his knights suspiciously, standing firm even after Tikal assured them that her new friends meant no harm. They agreed to let Sonic in on the condition that he leave his armed guard and weapons behind.

Although Sonic agreed without hesitation, convincing his knights to wait outside the village took all the persuasion he could conjure up on the spot – Sonic told himself it was practice for when he spoke with the chief.

The guards moved aside to let Tikal and Sonic enter, and Sonic took in as much as he could of the village's sights as Tikal escorted him to her father. It was nighttime, but there were torches everywhere; long torches stuck directly into the ground. Sonic could see that the terrain was much lusher than in the crown city, with no roads cutting through the grass or the juniper trees. Other than the wooden bridges allowing passage over the river that weaved in and out of the village, raw nature appeared to preside in their culture.

The people were still out and about; talking, laughing, taking a nighttime stroll. They all nodded respectfully at Tikal even as they gave Sonic looks ranging from curious to suspicious. Sonic noticed one villager carrying a basket of fruits of tantalizing shapes and colours, and said: ''Would it be possible to bring my friends something to eat? They haven't eaten all day.''

Tikal seemed once more horrified at having been so remiss as to not offer first. ''O-of course...!''

Waving the villager with the fruits over, Tikal instructed her to bring the basket to the guests outside the village. The villager, a beautiful woman who wore rouge on her lips, agreed and left with a smile, though not before handing Sonic an apricot. Sonic ate it happily as he followed Tikal along the rest of the way.

''Remember, king Sonic,'' Tikal warned him. ''It isn't easy to reason with my father. You need to arm yourself with patience.''

''Oh...,'' Sonic smiled nervously. ''No problem...! Patience is my middle name.''

''You...said that very unconvincingly.''

''Yep, sure did. Let's do this.''

*

Sonic and the Maa chief nearly spent the whole night talking. Tikal had been right to warn him, but, at the same time, Sonic found that the chief was fairly easy to understand. He was straightforward, much like Sonic himself, and valued strength almost as much as he valued his people. Sonic was quick to figure out that making excuses wouldn't work with him, so, instead of blaming the feud on Eggman, Sonic took responsibility for letting his subordinate scheme behind his back.

This earned him the chief's attention, then, when Sonic promised that he would personally see to it that Eggman paid for his crime, he earned his respect. Next, they discussed compensation. Sonic offered to have medicine sent over to the people who became ill from the water, an offer which the chief refused – his people were strong enough to pull through on their own. Perhaps not to lose to Sonic's generosity, however, the chief extended an offer of his own: sending some of his people to help with the repairs in the Tuulian village.

Sonic accepted – it was a sensible offer that could foster better relations between their people. He would send a delegate – someone he was absolutely certain he could trust – to ensure that the process ran peacefully.

Finally, as the business portion of their meeting ended, Sonic sat listening to the chief recounting stories of personal triumphs for about an hour. It stopped being interesting after the fifth one, but Sonic made a valiant effort to stay awake and appear fascinated. It was Tikal who rescued him eventually, politely implying that he had to be tired after travelling all the way there.

Sonic had obtained permission from the chief to let his knights rest in the village, and so he went to fetch them right away. Tikal lead them to some accommodations that had been arranged for them during Sonic's meeting with the chief, and Sonic fell into a deep slumber within seconds.

*

Come morning, Sonic awoke feeling rested for the first time since he had left the crown city. He sought Tikal out before leaving, and found her tending to a garden in the middle of the village. Surrounding her were four little creatures with tiny wings, who cooed as they fluttered around or played in the flowers. Sonic had never seen the likes of them before. ''Good morning, Tikal,'' he called out to her with a smile.

She looked up over her shoulder at him. ''Good morning, king Sonic. I hope your night was restful.''

''It honestly was,'' he answered. ''I'm grateful that your people let us stay here. Who are these little guys?''

''They are called chao,'' she glanced at them warmly. ''You've never seen one before?''

''No, not even in the books about Maa.''

''That's not so hard to believe...My people have always tried to keep the chao secret, since they simply cannot survive in strife. They are safer the fewer people know about them.'' A pall fell over her expression when she finished speaking, as though she had suddenly thought of something deeply worrisome. ''I just hope...,'' but she trailed off.

Sonic decided not to press her as he pet one of the chao. ''Hey, Tikal, I've got a favour to ask.''

''What is it?''

''Before coming here, I read stories about your people, about your treasure...the Master Emerald. Could I see it before we leave? I've been curious this whole time.''

Rather than grow defensive, Tikal seemed to bounce back, smiling at him enthusiastically. ''Certainly. Follow me.''

Tikal lead him deeper within the village, to a strange, stone structure at the top of a high set of stairs. The two of them climbed up the steps, and came upon an almost comically large emerald – just as the stories had said. Its green, shimmering surface was devoid of any imperfection; the inside was pure emerald through and through as far as Sonic could tell. Sonic could easily imagine thieves trying to sell it off to make a fortune.

''My people have guarded the Master Emerald for centuries,'' Tikal began explaining. ''We used to rely on its power, and afford it the proper reverence, but now...''

''You mean its clairvoyance, right?''

Tikal nodded. ''The emerald used to show us the past and the future, but, as my people began to grow distant from it, so too did the emerald stop sharing its power.''

''Even with you?''

''I...,'' Tikal hesitated. ''Sometimes, I feel as though I can sense glimpses of what the emerald is trying to tell me. It told me that the king of Tuuli was—is—a person I could trust.''

Sonic couldn't help grinning at that. ''So, I have the emerald to thank for our people not going to war with each other?''

''Maybe so,'' Tikal smiled as well.

''I read that it has other powers. Like, uh, controlling the forces of chaos?''

Tikal's expression grew instantly grim. ''Yes. Long ago, my people possessed other magical artifacts—seven gems which withheld enough power to destroy the world if combined. The Master Emerald is said to have prevented calamity from happening by momentarily stripping the gems of their power. The gems were then scattered around the world.''

Sonic whistled. ''Those sound like bad news.''

''I suppose that, in the right hands, their power could be used for good, but...it is hard to predict what someone would do when coming into that much power.''

''Have your people been trying to find them again?''

''Yes,'' she answered simply, her voice hollow.

Sonic left the matter at that – no doubt a problem for another time. He peered deeper within the Master Emerald instead, half-expecting to start seeing images flashing inside.

Only that wasn't quite what happened.

Sonic's vision went white—

—and he came to in a different place, in wholly unfamiliar surroundings.

Sonic was there. Not _him_ him. It was a second Sonic that he could see from an outside perspective. They didn't look the same, but Sonic felt the connection between them; felt the Will of the Wind thrumming softly under the other Sonic's skin.

Shadow was there, too. Same thing—a different Shadow, but Sonic recognized him as though recognizing his soul.

Beyond the two of them was a window giving into a sea of stars, and above them were floating seven gems aglow in different colours.

_''I think we saved the world together.''_

_''Not only that, but we just did it a second time.''_

Warmth enveloped Sonic before the vision changed—

''—onic? Sonic?!''

Suddenly, Sonic was back in front of the Master Emerald, as though his little vision journey hadn't happened. Sonic blinked, his eyes eventually meeting with Shadow's. The knight was holding him by the shoulders, worry clinging to his expression even as Sonic began to look around slowly.

It wasn't just Shadow: the other knights were all gathered around Sonic with the same panicked expression fading into relief. Tikal stood behind them, trying to peek over their shoulders to check on him. The chao from earlier were fluttering around her – between Sonic, the four knights, Tikal, the chao, and the Master Emerald, the space inside the temple-like structure was very cramped. ''What...just happened?''

''You've been unresponsive for the last ten minutes,'' Tikal answered. ''It didn't seem like you could hear or see me. Your knights came to check on you, and—''

''—I can imagine the rest,'' Sonic said as he afforded his knights a reassuring smile. ''I'm fine, don't worry.''

Shadow let go of him, although he continued to study Sonic's face for any sign of injury or illness or whatever issue could cause him to completely zone out for ten minutes. ''Do you know what happened to you while you were out?''

''Uh...Kind of,'' Sonic answered vaguely as he glanced at the emerald.

''The Master Emerald,'' Tikal spoke up, ''it showed you something, didn't it?''

Sonic instinctively glanced at Shadow, and his face warmed up. ''Yeah, a whole bunch of things. Different lifetimes. I was seeing them like I was there.''

''You travelled through time?'' Silver seemed as awed as he did concerned for Sonic. ''Sounds scary.''

''I wasn't actually there, but, some things were confusing,'' Sonic admitted. Many of the places the emerald had shown him were beyond the scope of what Sonic thought possible, like the sea of stars past the metal bridge. The places, however, hadn't been the focus of his vision. Throughout the different scenes the emerald had shown him, the one constant had been Shadow and him. ''It wasn't scary, though. More...''

Sonic trailed off as he looked at his audience – too big to get into the intimate details of his vision journey. ''It was nice.''

It was clear that the knights wanted him to elaborate, but they had no choice other than accepting his succinct answer. ''As long as you're safe,'' Knuckles said. ''Do you feel up to riding out today?''

''Yeah, absolutely,'' Sonic nodded.

Blaze tossed a playful glance at Knuckles. ''I'm surprised to see you in such a hurry to leave.''

''Yeah, Knuckles,'' Silver piped in. ''Don't you want to see your lady friend before we go?''

Both Silver and Blaze were giving Knuckles teasing smiles, and even Shadow was smiling slightly as he shook his head. Knuckles, on the other hand, immediately turned red, and started angrily sputtering: ''Will you two give it a rest already?! She's not my _lady friend_ , we barely talked, and you were there the whole time!''

''Wait, wait, wait,'' Sonic latched on, eyes wide and curious. ''What are you talking about? Knuckles made a lady friend?''

''The villager who brought us fruits yesterday,'' Blaze answered with a knowing smile. ''She seems to have taken quite a liking to sir Knuckles.''

''She was nice to all of us,'' Silver chimed in, ''but she kept smiling and making eyes at him.''

''That doesn't mean any—''

''She kissed his cheek before leaving,'' Shadow added, interrupting Knuckles.

''Not you too!!''

Sonic whistled at Knuckles. ''Wow, I didn't know you had such a way with the ladies, Knuckles.''

Knuckles was now red enough to put a ruby to shame. ''I—I don't! She was just being nice...!''

''That was Rouge, wasn't it?'' Tikal piped in as well, tapping her chin pensively as she recalled the previous night. ''Shall I instruct her to write to you, sir Knuckles? She is very smart, so writing in Tuulian should not be a problem after a bit of practice.''

''Please, let's just go...,'' Knuckles begged, almost slumping to the ground as Sonic and the other knights mouthed _do it_ at Tikal.

*

Preparations were made within the following hour, and, as Sonic and his knights stood readying their horses for the ride, Tikal and her father came to bid their guests goodbye. Sonic spotted them walking towards him, and stopped what he was doing in favour of giving them both a respectful bow. ''Thank you for seeing us off,'' he said, ''I'm also grateful to you for allowing us to stay in your village. I hope that we may one day repeat the experience, although, ideally, not in the same circumstances.''

Tikal giggled softly while her father nodded at Sonic. ''You've been gracious guests. You may come back whenever you wish.''

Sonic couldn't help the swell of pride in his chest – maybe he wasn't so bad at this king thing after all. ''Thank you. I would be honoured to have you visit Tuuli one day.''

The chief nodded again, his features softening just slightly. ''One day,'' he repeated, ''perhaps.''

''Ready to go?'' Sonic glanced at his knights, who either nodded or raised their thumb to indicate that they were done preparing. Hopping on his horse, Sonic looked down at the chief. ''I'll write to you as soon as we've dealt with my advisor.''

''Write to my daughter,'' the chief said. ''She is better at reading your tongue. She can give me the news.''

''Will do,'' Sonic said, somewhat relieved at that. ''Alright, let's go!''

The party of five rode off – back to the castle to deliver Eggman his comeuppance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

Since Sonic expected some resistance when they confronted Eggman, he insisted on stopping to rest through the night every day of their journey back to the crown city. They spent the first night in the village at the border, where Sonic informed the people that some Maa delegates would soon come to help them with repairing their damaged property, and salvaging their crops. The people seemed glad to hear it, if a bit skeptic. At the very least, Sonic was certain that they wouldn't turn the Maa volunteers away, or worse.

On the second night, they camped out in the forest. It was every bit the pleasant night of camping that Sonic had wished for at the start of their journey, before they were attacked by Eggman's automatons. They roasted meat and vegetable skewers – the ingredients were a courtesy from the villagers – over the fire, exchanged stories, laughed, teased Knuckles about his future wife some more – all under a bed of twinkling stars. Sonic was able to feel connected to his knights as friends again.

When Sonic retired to his tent for the night, Shadow took the first guard shift once more. Sonic waited in his tent until he heard the distinct sound of Knuckles snoring in the next tent, and, guessing that the other two knights were asleep as well, albeit without snoring quite so audibly, he tiptoed outside to join Shadow by the embers of the fire. The knights had insisted on snuffing it out as it stood the risk of leading all manner of beasts and ne'er-do-wells to them.

Shadow glanced over at Sonic as the king sat down beside him. ''Again?''

''What?''

''You seem to be making a habit of staying up through the first shift. Is there something keeping you up?''

''You could say that,'' Sonic answered vaguely.

The truth was that Sonic had been waiting for a chance to be alone with Shadow, so he could touch upon the subject of what he had seen in his vision. Sonic had had such a chance the night before, but he had wavered at the last moment. What Sonic had essentially understood – felt, more than anything – from that vision was that he and Shadow—their essence, their soul—would meet in the course of different lifetimes, would always find their way to each other, and would always devote their life to one another.

Quite an intense confession to just mention offhand.

Shadow wasn't a mushy person – what if it just made him uncomfortable? What if he didn't think of Sonic that way at all, nor would ever come to do so? What if Sonic had just made too big a deal of what he'd seen? Maybe the Master Emerald had looked into his heart, and shown Sonic what he wanted to see. Those were some of the reasons why Sonic hesitated, beating around the bush instead of getting right to the point. ''Tonight was nice. I missed spending time with all of you like this, in a low-pressure situation.''

''Me too,'' Shadow conceded with a smile. ''I didn't think it was possible given the circumstances, but you always manage to make the best out of a bad situation. It's something I've always loved about you.''

Sonic was thankful that with the fire out, it was likely too dark for Shadow to see the blush on his face. Had Shadow meant to say that? Did it just slip out? Was he just feeling mellow from the relaxing, fun evening they had? Sonic tried to sound casual, and almost choked on his spit as he said: ''Loved, huh? I'm flattered.''

''I—well, I'm sure the others feel the same.''

Sonic would have bristled at Shadow's evasive reply if it hadn't been for the nervous hint to his voice. His heartbeat sped up instead, and he scrambled his brain for something clever to reply. ''Right, right.''

Apparently, Sonic was past the point of being able to formulate clever replies.

A silence settled between the two of them. Sonic wasn't the best with silence. He welcomed it whenever he was trying to relax or take a nap, but not so much in social situations. He was usually the one to fill silence with incessant chatter to the point where silence probably seemed preferable to whomever Sonic was speaking.

At this moment, however, Sonic's powers of endless monologuing failed him; meanwhile, the silence was stretching. ''So, uh,'' Sonic gave in at last, ''I'm surprised you didn't ask me about my vision.''

''Was there more to it that you wanted to add?''

''I don't know. Maybe...but aren't you curious?''

''I'm curious,'' Shadow granted him after a pause.

Sonic let out a quiet, nervous breath. So far so good? ''Well, like I said, I think I saw myself through other lifetimes. And you were there a bunch, too. Not _you_ , I mean—your descendants, I guess.''

There was a much longer pause then. ''How did you know it was me...or you, for that matter?''

''I can't describe it. It was like everything I saw and heard was made for my soul to understand on some level. I think the experience would've just been scary otherwise,'' Sonic tried to laugh. ''But I could tell that it was us. We're in each other's lives a lot—like we're drawn to each other.''

Another long pause, and, Sonic thought that, even if it had been bright enough to see, he probably would not have had the courage to peek at Shadow's expression. But then, eventually, Shadow spoke up. ''That doesn't surprise me.''

Sonic swallowed. ''How so?''

''It's just something about you...,'' Shadow started, his face growing warm. ''If I met you in another life, I'm sure that I would want to know you.''

''So...,'' Sonic tried to sound normal even as his stomach flipped over, and his heart beat violently against his chest, ''not too sentimental for you, the whole...fated meeting thing?''

Shadow let out a soft laugh that Sonic wished he could hear again and again. ''Not too sentimental. I'm glad to hear it.''

Sonic's heart beat had officially reached a speed that could be deemed deadly. ''Right—''he tried to sound playful, and couldn't even hear whether he pulled it off or not—''heh, because you would be lost without me.''

''In this lifetime and the next,'' Shadow agreed, smiling softly.

It was a while before Sonic went to sleep. He spent some time wondering whether he should pick up the conversation, or reach for Shadow's hand, but he eventually settled on simply enjoying the moment together, in a meaningful silence that wasn't so uncomfortable after all.

*

It was the dawn of the fourth day of their cross-country journey when Sonic and his knights rode into the crown city with the same righteous fury as when they left the village in Maa. The few people who were out getting their stalls ready for the market, or taking an early stroll, waved as Sonic passed by, happy to see that their king had returned safely. Their feelings poured out to him, and a wide smile dawned on his face. His people were safe, thriving, and Eggman hadn't poisoned their minds or unleashed killer machines upon them while he was gone.

They weren't hungry for war – a few rumours about tension with the Maa people at the border weren't going to undo the tolerant, pacific mentality that the queen had fostered in her people.

Sonic jumped off his horse as soon as he reached the castle, and he rushed over to the knights who were posted at the entrance, hardly giving them time to snap at attention before he asked: ''Where's Egg—My chief advisor?''

''I-in his workshop, at the last of our knowledge, your Majesty,'' the knight replied.

''He wouldn't make it that easy for us, would he?'' Knuckles was dismounting his horse and already gripping his sword in anticipation.

''I doubt it,'' Sonic said. Then, turning to the pair of knights, and attempting his most authoritarian tone yet, he ordered: ''I want knights securing all exits to the castle and the city. The chief advisor is guilty of high treason, and he is not allowed to leave the city. If you find him, bring him to me immediately.''

''Yes, sire, at once!''

The knights ran off, presumably to alert the others.

Sonic joined the search, of course, swinging by Eggman's workshop to confirm that he wasn't there waiting to be arrested. Sonic guessed that Eggman had absconded the second he heard of Sonic's impending return – after sending out machines to kill the king and his private guard, Eggman had to realize what was coming for him. ''I'm surprised he didn't run away sooner,'' Sonic mused out loud.

''He must have something here he's unwilling to leave behind,'' Blaze suggested.

''Come to think of it, his workshop doesn't have anything resembling those machines he sent after us,'' Silver pointed out. ''Where's he keeping them?''

''Could be he sent every one he had,'' Sonic said, ''but I doubt it. I think you're right—he must have another workshop he's reluctant to abandon.''

Knuckles frowned. ''But where? There's no such place in the castle.''

''There are a few secret passages in the castle,'' Shadow stated pragmatically. ''Some of them lead underground.''

A big grin on his face, Sonic snapped his fingers at him. ''Right you are, Shadow. I used to explore those passages all the time as a kid, but I didn't go far underground. It's definitely worth checking out.''

''If he's hiding more of those automatons, Shadow and I should go replace our armour,'' Blaze said. ''We may be in for a fight.''

''Go,'' Sonic nodded. ''We'll wait here for you.''

When Blaze and Shadow returned, Sonic lead his knights to one of the secret passages that he remembered from his childhood, behind one of the cases in the wine cellar. Not the kind of place Sonic would typically find himself, neither as a child nor an adult, but he had been thorough in exploring the castle. Sonic moved the case aside to reveal a door, which lead to a long, narrow tunnel. Shadow and Knuckles lead the march, with Sonic in the middle while Blaze and Silver closed behind.

The passage connected with other entry points in different places within the castle, but one path distinctly tipped downwards. After walking along the tunnel for ten minutes, they started to hear clanking and whirring noises from up ahead. The passage emerged into a large room dug into the rock. It was lit by lamps that seemed much brighter than oil lamps, and littered with machine parts; metal plates, gears, wheels, and plenty more whose nature or purpose Sonic and his knights could not ascertain. A massive door on the other end of the room suggested that this secret workshop hid more secrets yet.

Hunched over a workstation beside the big door was Eggman, who either hadn't heard them come in, or was waiting to make a dramatic reveal. ''Why, hello, your Majesty,'' Eggman spoke up cordially. ''How nice of you to come all the way down here for a visit.''

Dramatic reveal, then.

''Quite the secret lair you have, Eggman,'' Sonic said, no longer bothering to hide the nickname. Eggman himself had to have heard him use it once or twice with the queen. ''Since you're already used to spending time where the sun doesn't shine, you won't mind spending a few years in the dungeon.''

''A fair point, but I have no intention of letting you lock me up, Sonic,'' Eggman leered, turning towards them with a flourish, and pressing a button on a little metal rectangle.

Sonic's knights reflexively drew out their swords and formed up in front of Sonic as if sensing that something was about to go down. The big door next to Eggman whined as it slid open, and, for a moment, Sonic and his knights couldn't see anything through the darkness on the other side. Then, a dozen of those egg-shaped automatons came hovering out of the room, followed by a different, much larger creature that looked like a stone golem.

This golem, which had fists the size of its vaguely-humanoid head, lumbered towards the knights, who were already in the middle of dealing with the egg machines. The golem settled between Eggman and Sonic's party, and began swatting at them as they moved around trying to avoid the energy bolts flying in every direction.

Neither of them needed to take a swing at the golem to know that their swords wouldn't so much as dent it, and were more likely to break or chip on impact. What followed was a desperate fight in which the knights tried and failed to gain a foothold, forced instead to stay on the defensive. Even Sonic, who tried to zip around to keep the golem occupied, found himself losing ground as he dodged attacks from the egg machines.

Blaze managed to hop onto the golem's arm as it swung at her, and stabbed through one of the egg-shaped automatons within reach, but, the next second, the golem rotated on itself, slamming Blaze into the rock wall of the underground chamber. When the golem pulled its arm away, Blaze slid to the ground, her sword clattering to the floor. If she wasn't unconscious yet, she soon would be – her breastplate had caved in, making it impossible for her to breathe.

''Silver!'' Sonic tried to ignore the panic in his own voice. ''Get Blaze's breastplate off of her _now_!''

Silver didn't need to be asked twice, rushing over to his friend, and kneeling to heave her breastplate off. Just as he did, two energy bolts struck him on the back, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the room. Silver screamed in pain, somehow clinging to consciousness even as he failed to move more than a half-inch without feeling a wave of searing pain crash over him.

Knuckles was next to fall, taking down two automatons in time for the golem to wrap a hand around him, pulling him off the ground like a weed, and crushing his armour before flinging him across the room.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sonic saw Knuckles collapse as he struggled to get up, and the sound of Eggman's loud cackling reached his ears. It should have angered Sonic, but instead he just felt dread clutching his stomach at the thought of his friends in critical condition. He needed to get them out of here safely somehow, and then figure out a way of dealing with this monstrous golem, and find out how in the world Eggman was powering all these machines in the first place.

Suddenly, something was grabbing his arm and dragging him across the room. Sonic's vision came back into focus, and he saw Shadow pulling him towards the exit. ''S-Shadow, you need to get the others out—''

''Get out of here,'' Shadow cut in, his voice rough and his breathing uneven from exertion. ''Get the other knights, or seal off this place. I'll stay here and hold off the machines.''

''But you'll—''

Shadow shoved him into the tunnel that lead into the chamber. ''There's no time, just go!''

There was a tremor in Shadow's voice that stuck around Sonic's mind, and gave him pause as he watched Shadow turn back in time to narrowly jump out of the way of three energy bolts.

_This is what you wanted, right...?_

_I've got you. You're going to live, Shadow._

Sonic recalled his vision; remembered another detail that seemed to come back throughout most of the lifetimes he had glimpsed. Sonic breathed in slowly as the Will of the Wind began to stir within him, began to rage like a storm.

His loved ones weren't dying today – least of all Shadow.

Sheathing his sword in favour of freeing up his hands, Sonic rushed back into the room, running to Shadow in a flash, and, picking him up bridal-style, effortlessly zipped out of the way of another attack.

''Sonic?! Wh—''

''Don't worry,'' Sonic replied, his voice steady, as he hopped on the golem's arm like Blaze had done earlier, and ran up its arm to jump atop its head. ''I've got you.''

Sonic had thought of trying this earlier, but it hadn't been possible with egg machines dividing their attention between his knights. Now, three of his knights were out of commission, and Sonic held the last one in his arms, and he watched with a steely stare as the egg machines shifted their focus entirely to him, hovering up to his level. Sonic crouched down, both to ready himself to jump, and to increase the probability that the golem would soak up the attack to come.

''You always try to sacrifice yourself,''whispered to Shadow as the egg machines lined up their shot. ''I've seen it. In all the lifetimes I witnessed, you always try to give your life up for other people, or for me. I don't know how I can stop you, but I know I'll always be there to save you.''

Nine energy bolts came flying towards them, but Sonic leaped out of the way at the last second, hopping from one automaton to the next as they tipped downwards under his weight, and began to fire at each other in fruitless attempts to strike him.

The top half of the golem's head crumbled away, revealing a glass case that glowed red. Sonic nimbly dodged when the golem took a clumsy swing at him, and made his way back up to its head in a rush of wind.

''Soni...c?'' Shadow looked dizzy as Sonic set him down gently. He blinked, and looked at Sonic with a mix of awe and confusion and relief. Neither of them had died yet – that was more than Shadow had come to expect in the last twenty minutes.

''Looks like most of those machines took each other out,'' Sonic said as he scanned the room. ''Can you take care of those that are left?''

It took Shadow a second to nod. ''O-of course.''

Shadow stood hesitating for a moment, then added: ''When we're done here, we're going to have a lot to talk about.''

Sonic looked at him, and smiled. ''Oh, I know.''

Shadow made his way down to the floor to deal with the few remaining egg-machines, while Sonic removed his sheathe, and held on to it to hit the pommel of his sword against the glass case. After three strikes, it shattered to reveal a glowing, red gem, similar to the Master Emerald in shape, only much smaller.

Sonic almost felt stupid that he hadn't figured it out beforehand as he removed the gem from its socket. He jumped down to the floor, landing softly, while the golem tipped forward as though falling asleep sitting up, and stopped moving.

''P-please!'' Eggman's shrill voice came from near the entrance to the chamber. ''It was all part of a plan to help our kingdom be stronger!''

Sonic walked around the golem to see that Shadow, who had finished dispatching the last egg-machines, had forced Eggman to his knees, and was holding his sword flush against Eggman's jugular. Sonic ignored him for the time being in favour of checking on Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze.

Blaze would be fine as soon as she regained consciousness, but Knuckles and Silver needed medical attention. Picking Silver up as carefully as he could, and without aggravating the knight's wound, Sonic walked towards the entrance.

''Your Majesty...,'' Eggman pleaded as Sonic walked past him. ''You know that I'm loyal to Tuuli, don't you? My inventions have bettered our kingdom for decades—''

''Stay here,'' Sonic told Shadow. ''Watch him until I come back.''

Shadow nodded without looking away from Eggman.

Within the hour, Silver and Knuckles were in bed, being tended to by the best doctors in the city, and Eggman was in the dungeon. The gem which Sonic had recovered from the golem was hidden in Sonic's private chamber, until he figured out what to do with it.

The thought of killing Eggman had entered Sonic's mind, but he couldn't do it. He didn't have it in him to kill, for one, and Eggman, however bent on conquering this kingdom for himself, had too much to offer to the world. One look at his secret workshop was enough for Sonic to see that Eggman's prototypes could be repurposed for something not so lethal – though maybe not the golem. That monstrosity would stay buried under the rubble when all that could be salvaged from the workshop was out, and Sonic condemned the underground chamber indefinitely.

Sonic understood that Eggman had used the red gem to power the golem, as well as the other automatons through the storage of the gem's energy in something that Eggman called a _battery_. It was how those egg-machines had been able to function even as they chased Sonic and his knights down miles away from the castle, and it was just one of the innovations that Sonic believed would be foolish to write off, regardless of the bitter taste in his mouth whenever he thought of it.

_Was it one of your machines that killed my mother?_

Eggman's silence had given Sonic his answer. It made sense now that the queen's private guard hadn't even caught a glimpse of the assassin, or heard a peep when it sneaked into her room.

Once more, Sonic found it in him to stay his blade.

Eggman would be given the freedom to keep researching and working on his inventions from his dungeon cell, but he would never use those inventions for himself. It would have to be punishment enough.

When Sonic left the dungeon with Shadow, he leaned into Shadow's side.

''I could have killed him for you,'' Shadow said, and it was clear in his voice that he burned to do it.

Sonic shook his head. ''No more killing,'' he said tiredly. ''It won't help anyone.''

When Shadow took a moment to reply, Sonic thought that Shadow resented his decision not to avenge the queen's death. But then, Shadow's voice softened as he said: ''You should rest. Let me take you to your room.''

Still leaning against Shadow, Sonic didn't resist as Shadow took his hand to gently coax him forward. Shadow brought Sonic to his room, but, as he turned to leave, Sonic held on to his hand.

''Stay,'' Sonic asked simply.

The two of them had a lot to discuss, but it would wait until later, until Sonic didn't feel so drained, until his heart didn't feel so weary. Yet Sonic wanted Shadow to stay by his side until then. Nothing else.

Although Shadow seemed to believe that the greatest proof of his devotion would be to give up his life, Sonic would much rather he remain by his side, always.

''I'll stay,'' Shadow nodded, and closed the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the epilogue. Thank you to the few people who commented.

_Dear Tikal,_

_I hope you've been doing well._

_We took care of my advisor; you can tell your father that he's not getting out of the dungeon in this lifetime. I know the chief probably would have preferred if we executed him, but that's just not my style. I'm sure you understand._

_It's a good thing that you'll be the one to read this letter, because there's something kind of sensitive I need to mention. I found something in my advisor's workshop. One of those gems we talked about in your village, or at least, I'm almost sure it's one of them. It powered all of the machines my advisor used to try and kill my knights and me. It's stashed somewhere safe now, since I'm not honestly sure what to do with it. You said that the power of the gems could be used for good, and I want to believe that, it's just hard after what I've seen._

_Either way, I wanted to let you know one of them is in Tuuli, so it doesn't seem like we're hiding it. It may be best not to tell your father though, if he's as bent on finding them as you say he is. I don't want these gems to be used to hurt anyone ever again. It may actually be safest for you to burn this letter after you've read it._

_My advisor said he found one of the gems by chance years ago, and that he read up on them in the books we have on Maa folklore. I could tell he became obsessed with finding all of them. He probably figured that some of them were being concealed in your territory, which is why he was so intent on us fighting. If we conquered your territory, he could conduct a search for the gems without any issue._

_The only problem was that my mother, the queen, had no intention of ever going to war, so he killed her, and then he found out that I wasn't so easy to manipulate either, so he tried to get our people hungry for war by causing tension between our two people. His final gambit was to try to have me killed, thinking it would enrage the knights and civilians enough to take up arms and attack Maa._

_I don't know if he was always that crazy, or if it's the power of the gem that warped his mind, I just know that anyone who's that desperate to find them for their power is...Let's just say, I would try to talk your father down from searching for them if I was you. I believe you can be a good influence on him, Tikal. Don't doubt yourself._

_It'll be a while before I can get away, but I hope to visit again soon. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with the chao._

_I'll look forward to hearing back from you._

_Sincerely,_

_King Sonic_

_PS: If Rouge wants to write to Knuckles, send the letter along with yours. I'll make sure he gets it. Let her know that he's recovering in bed right now, and that he would definitely love to hear her console him._

Sonic sealed the envelope, and left it on his desk. He would send it out for delivery later. Sonic wandered over to his balcony, stretching his arms over his head, and heaving a long sigh. He was just starting to recover from the confrontation with Eggman the day before. Seeing his friends gravely injured, learning that Eggman was responsible for his mother's death – all of it. Sonic was a serial optimist, but even he took some things with a heavy heart.

His mother was at peace now, he told himself as he looked out onto the city, and Eggman would never hurt anyone again. Sonic had done all he could, it was time to turn the page. There were better days coming to Tuuli, and to the world beyond, this he knew.

Shadow believed it, too.

Sonic had expected Shadow to be consumed with rage towards Eggman, and guilt towards himself, but, as Shadow stayed up with him the night before, he seemed oddly at peace. Like he believed that, for once, his pain would heal in time.

Although nothing had happened, Sonic felt his cheeks grow warm as he recalled the previous night. Since neither of them felt like they could fall asleep, they had stayed up until dawn, sitting close to each other, looking at the stars from the balcony. Sonic felt that more had been said between the two of them than actual words could convey.

When dawn stretched across the sky, Sonic assumed that he fell asleep, and that Shadow carried him to bed, where Sonic woke up that same afternoon.

A knock came at his door, and Sonic called out from the balcony: ''Come in.''

The door clicked open and shut, then a set of footsteps crossed the room to the balcony.

''I thought you might be awake by now,'' Shadow said. He was out of his armour, but one look at him his unkempt hair and bleary eyes was enough for Sonic to guess that he hadn't so much as washed himself since the day before. Yet he showed no concern for himself as he asked: ''How are you feeling? I mean—that's a stupid question, I know, but...''

Wide-eyed, Sonic blew right past Shadow's blabbering: ''Shadow, did you sleep at all yesterday?''

Glancing away, Shadow didn't answer.

Sonic stared at him dead in the eyes, and insisted: '' _Shadow_. Have you been sitting outside my door all night?''

After a long pause, Shadow answered: ''I thought you might need me.''

''Y...,'' Sonic stared at him in disbelief, ''you know there are other people who work in this castle, right? I could've called for someone else.''

''I know, but...''

Sonic relented then, because Shadow looked almost sheepish. He couldn't hold back a smile even as he sighed, ''I guess saving your life won't make you less of a hopelessly devoted fool.''

Shadow pouted at that. ''I saved your life a bunch of times before yesterday...''

''Yeah, yeah,'' Sonic just chuckled. ''Just go rest, please. And wash yourself.''

Still pouting, Shadow turned to leave only for Sonic to stop him again. ''Wait,'' he said. Then, without prelude, ''I love you, Shadow.''

Sonic wasn't the type to hide his feelings, nor to hesitate, but there was a reason why he had waited until now to confess. It was because he was certain now that his feelings went beyond infatuation. This was more than his crush on the brooding knight with a tough exterior and a soft interior. ''You're always there to support me, Shadow. I thought it was so odd when you comforted me at my mother's funeral, because it seemed so out of character for you, but I was wrong. It's exactly who you are. You've been doing it this whole time, supporting me in your own way.''

Since Shadow's brain still seemed to be catching up to Sonic's out-of-the-clear-blue confession, Sonic continued: ''I don't want you dying for me, ever. I want you to stay by my side for as long as we both live.''

A vivid blush spread over Shadow's face as he searched his brain for an appropriate answer, and then, perhaps because of how tired he was, or perhaps because Sonic's words sounded awfully like a marriage proposal, the one that came out was: ''...I can't give you an heir.''

Sonic found himself once more staring at Shadow in disbelief, an incredulous smile pulling at his lips. ''Th...that's what you're worried about?''

''Well, you,'' Shadow floundered, ''you need to pass on the Will of the Wind, and I—we can't—''

''Ok, stop right there,'' Sonic held up his hand, before bringing it to his forehead with a heavy sigh. ''The Will of the Wind has nothing to do with bloodline. It can be passed on to anyone who embodies its essence. So, that's one thing. Another thing is that I know for a fact that the Will of the Wind survives long after us. I've seen it. My descendants will all carry it, whether they're aware of it or not. It might be what draws us together again and again.''

While Shadow processed all of that, Sonic stepped closer to him. ''So, forget the heir thing, will ya? All I need to know is if you feel the same way about me.''

Shadow's blush deepened, then, and he averted his eyes as he mumbled: ''I thought it was obvious that I do...''

''Huh? What?'' Sonic blinked at him, eyes wide. ''What does that mean?''

''I—'' Shadow looked back at him, incredulous, and a little frustrated. ''You're really dense, aren't you? How many times have I said that I admire or love this-or-that about you?''

''Wh—And that's supposed to make it obvious that you love _me_?''

''I would think so!''

Sonic processed that revelation for a moment until, slowly, he brought his hands up to cover his face. His cheeks were burning. ''W-well, I guess I'm an idiot because I had no idea.''

''No argument here.''

Sonic spread his fingers out slightly to glare at Shadow. ''I'm still your king, you know.''

''I stand by what I said,'' Shadow said, a little smirk playing on his lips. ''But since you need me to spell it out, I will. I...I love you, too. Although I really don't feel that I'm deserving of—''

Shadow's sentence was cut short when Sonic uncovered his face, and pressed his lips against Shadow's in a chaste, if insistent kiss. As Sonic pulled away, he whispered: ''I don't want to hear that. I chose you. I'm going to love you whether you like it or not.''

Shadow looked a bit dazed as he nodded, his lips still warm from the kiss.

''Now go take a bath, go sleep, and we're going to resume this later,'' Sonic said firmly, however reluctant to let Shadow go now.

When Shadow left, shuffling out of the room as though in a love-induced trance, Sonic found himself smiling. There was a lot for him to do today. He had to get the letter out to Tikal, send his delegates to the village at the border, take care of some details concerning Eggman, visit his friends in their sick beds, make an announcement to his people about the recent upheaval...Everything about the past week - the anxiety, the betrayal, the pain – was still raw. Still, Sonic found himself smiling. Come what may, he could handle it.

After all, he had Shadow by his side. Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. If you weren't satisfied with the ending you can drop your complaints here -holds up trash can-


End file.
